The petition of residents of the constituency of North Durham,
Declares that Chester-le-Street Post Office, which provides vital services to local residents is at risk of closure; and notes that x people have signed a similar online petition on this matter.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to encourage the Post Office to ensure that Chester-le-Street Post Office can remain open.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by Luke Akehurst, Official Report, 30 January 2025; Vol. 761, c. 523.]
[P003039]
Observations from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Gareth Thomas):
I thank the petitioners for raising concerns regarding the potential closure of the Chester-le-Street post office. Given the Post Office Chair’s November 2024 announcement on the future of the Post Office, and subsequent media reports on branch closures, I understand local residents’ concerns regarding the Chester-le-Street branch.
No decisions have been made regarding the future of any individual directly managed branches, including the Chester-le-Street post office. We expect the Post Office to fully engage and consult with local communities, Citizens Advice, trade unions and potential future partners to consider how to best meet the needs for post office services in a local area.
The Government protect the post office network by setting minimum access criteria to ensure that 99% of the UK population lives within 3 miles of a post office. The access criteria ensure that, however the network changes, essential services remain within local reach of all citizens.
The Post Office has the freedom to make commercial decisions regarding the composition of its network, providing it fulfils the Government-set access criteria. Decisions around individual branches are a matter for the Post Office.
The Government will continue to work closely with Post Office as it develops its transformation plan, while the Post Office continues to deliver on the 11,500 minimum branch requirements set by the Government.