Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions he has had with the Post Office on proposed closures.
Answered by Gareth Thomas - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Secretary of State and I recently met with the Post Office Chair, Nigel Railton, and discussed his proposals for the future of the company before Mr Railton announced Post Office's Transformation Plan on 13th November. While Post Office has the freedom to make commercial decisions regarding the composition of its network, Government sets the parameters for the Post Office to operate in.
The Government protects the branch network by setting minimum access criteria which require 99% of the UK population to be within three miles of their nearest Post Office outlet. The access criteria ensure that however the network changes, services remain within local reach of all citizens.
Asked by: Alex Easton (Independent - North Down)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to (a) help prevent Post Office closures in (i) the United Kingdom and (ii) Bangor, North Down and (b) ensure continued access to (A) postal and (B) banking services in impacted areas.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Government provides an annual £50m Network Subsidy funding to support the delivery of a minimum number of branches and a geographical spread of branches in line with published access criteria. The access criteria ensure that however the network changes, Post Office delivers essential services, including banking and cash services, across all four nations of the UK via its network of 11,500 branches.
The Government further understands the importance of face-to-face banking to communities and high streets, and is committed to championing sufficient access for all. We have committed to work closely with banks to roll out at least 350 banking hubs, which will provide individuals and businesses up and down the country with critical cash and banking services.