4 days ago
Post Offices face axe under government shake-up
Post Offices across the UK are at risk as Labour considers scrapping a rule forcing ministers to protect thousands of branches.
The Government is consulting on whether to axe the requirement to keep at least 11,500 Post Offices open, suggesting that a 'smaller' network could be better suited to meet 'market trends'.
The minimum branch requirement was introduced by the Tory-led coalition in 2010, after Labour oversaw thousands of cuts to the network in the 2000s.
Scrapping the limit is not Labour's preferred course of action, with the Government saying it would rather keep things as they are.
However, it is a 'lower cost option' being considered by ministers to help achieve policy objectives.
Dame Harriett Baldwin, the shadow business minister, said the review would threaten 'the future of branches nationwide', putting vital services for vulnerable people at risk.
Under the proposal, the exact size of the network would become an 'operational decision' for the Post Office.
However, it would still need to ensure that at least 99 per cent of the population stays within three miles of a full service branch.
The Government said the Post Office would have 'more flexibility to adapt to market trends' as its resources would be 'less thinly spread'.
But it acknowledged that a 'modestly smaller network' would likely be a concern to people living nearby.
The consultation document said: 'As set out at the beginning of the chapter, there are already changes happening in the network to allow Post Office to make the most of opportunity in the parcels market.
'Too much change at the same time could lead to instability for Post Office as well as communities and so it might be preferable to wait to see how the network evolves in the short term before reviewing the overall size and for any longer-term changes to be phased in over time.'
Instead, ministers have said they would prefer to maintain all existing requirements, with the Government continuing to subsidise loss-making branches to ensure everyone has access to a Post Office.
At the beginning of the millennium, there were 18,393 Post Offices. By 2023, this had dropped to 11,684. The biggest fall was at the height of the financial crisis, between 2008 and 2009, when the total dropped by 1,615.
Dame Harriett, who has been a vocal campaigner for the Post Office network, said: 'Labour's extensive Post Office review threatens the future of branches nationwide.
'And this will put vital services at risk. Especially for pensioners, rural communities, and small businesses who rely on them most.
'I've been an advocate for Post Offices, those who work there and those who rely on them all my political career. And for the last 15 years the number of Post Offices has been kept stable at 11,500. Labour are now consulting on reducing that number.'
She added: 'The closure of Post Offices could once again leave pensioners, small businesses and rural communities cut off from vital services. With bank branches closing, often it's Post Offices that provide vital banking services.
'I'd encourage all Telegraph readers to respond to the Government's consultation and I've also started a petition which has already attracted 100,000 signatures.'
The petition, called Save Your Post Office, urges people to push back against the potential closures.
