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Closures of Local Post Offices

In the House of Commons on Tuesday 18 April, there was a debate on post offices. West Derbyshire's Member of Parliament, Patrick McLoughlin, spoke in that debate to urge the Government to make clear what sort of subsidy it might offer to post offices. Firstly, however, Mr McLoughlin was angry that MPs had been given such a short time to examine the new clause relating to the subsidy. He said:

‘I am sorry that the Secretary of State waited so long before bringing new Clause 1 before the House. In so doing, he did not give us enough opportunity to study the new clause. Having seen it, I can understand why he did not want to give us long to study it. The new clause does not say that there will be a subsidy to village post offices, or what level of subsidy it will be. Let us be clear that we are talking about the future of sub-post offices.'

Speaking in his constituency, Mr McLoughlin added:

‘Village post offices are very important, but we should not forget that many sub-post offices on the outskirts of towns can be vital to people living near them. It can be very difficult for the elderly and mothers with young children to get into town just to collect benefits when they need them.'

In the House of Commons, Mr McLoughlin went on to attack the Government for allowing continuing uncertainty about post offices. He pointed out that:

‘Subsidies will, by their very nature, mean rules and regulations whereby some post offices will qualify while others will not. The system of subsidy does not reflect the great difference in the rural network of sub-post offices. Some are open for two hours in the morning for four or five days a week, while others are full time. It will be interesting to see how the Government arrive at the formula to give subsidies to community post offices and to those that offer full services in rural areas.'

Mr McLoughlin also wanted to know if the Government had considered the possibility of ensuring that sub-postmasters were paid the national minimum wage, which is not currently the case. However, the Secretary of State only replied, ‘That is a separate issue, which relates to people who have a contract of employment.'

Mr McLoughlin went on,

‘I have seen the number of post office closures in my constituency escalate dramatically. There have been closures in Cubley, Longford, Roston, Flagg, Lea Bridge, Tissington, Fenny Bentley and Taddington. Such a major escalation of closures is a cause of concern. It is partly due to the Government's insistence on the switch to automated credit transfer and the fear that that decision has struck into the sub-post office network. That is why, after much pressure on the Government, we have managed to drag out from them this new clause. I hope that the new clause will do what the Government desire. We will be watching future closures very closely.'

Mr McLoughlin concluded by asserting:

‘We have not found out enough from the Government. I hope that when the Bill goes to another place, people there will tease out from the Government exactly what they are talking about in new Clause 1. How much help will be available to ensure the future of post offices, remembering that almost 1,000 have closed in the last three years. I hope that the other place (the House of Lords) will fulfil that role.'