Local Post Offices Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateRebecca Smith
Main Page: Rebecca Smith (Conservative - South West Devon)Department Debates - View all Rebecca Smith's debates with the Department for Business and Trade
(1 day, 15 hours ago)
Commons ChamberIn September 2021, Plymstock post office closed. It was part of the collateral damage of the closure by Morrisons of more than 80 newsagents. It was a legitimate business decision no doubt, but it highlights the issue of the post office franchise model. Those businesses just disappeared from the high street. What followed was a public petition, which I started. There was huge public disappointment, as older populations are used to using cash. The postmistress of the next nearest post office wants to retire, which leaves just one bank with one cash machine. The next nearest cash machine is 10 or 15 minutes’ walk away. Importantly, this was the loss of an anchor at a shopping centre that is vital for the local community.
Working closely with the Post Office and local businesses, we sought to secure a new post office, but it is a challenge to make the franchise business model work. That will be even harder now with the employer increased national insurance contributions that businesses face. I raised this matter with the Minster today and he gave me a helpful answer. He mentioned the increase in the sub-postmaster pay offer, but there remains the issue that we are not replacing closing post offices on a like-for-like basis.
Plymstock had a three-counter model, which the Post Office has offered to replace with a local franchise. It is offering just £15,000 to £18,000 a year to run that service within an existing or proposed business. We have to add on to that rent, business rates, staff, and set-up and running costs, because, at the moment, there are no businesses on the Broadway, where the post office was located, able to take on that service.
There is also a challenge with the franchise model, in that it is often not possible to tag on additional services at the beginning that would make the business more profitable. For example, passport processing is not always offered at the start, and those extra services can often be the difference between a business model that will work and one that is unsustainable.
Ironically, on 22 May, the day the general election was called, I met again with the Post Office—some three years later—to discuss the issue. The Post Office raised with me the statistics on what was needed. It thought that the use of a post office in the area would increase over time, but it would not take into account the fact that a neighbouring postmistress was seeking to retire. Therefore, the data showed that the area did not need anything more than a post office local. All it took was a tiny bit of horizon scanning to realise that there would be that need and that demand shortly. We got stuck in a Catch-22 situation. The Post Office reassured me that it had further people interested in running the post office, but, nearly one year later, nothing has come to fruition. The fight continues.
As has been mentioned by other hon. Members, there is the option of banking hubs. The work of the Conservative Government to trailblaze this modern solution for communities has helped remarkably, and I am sure that we will hear lots about that this afternoon.
To reinforce the point that the hon. Member for Taunton and Wellington (Gideon Amos) made, there is a real concern that communities that are looking to have a banking hub do not have a functioning post office in the way that we would understand it. Does my hon. Friend agree with me that the arrival of banking hubs is actually the opportunity to put a post office back into those communities as well?
I absolutely agree with my right hon. Friend. I think that all of us in this Chamber will agree that having a post office within these banking hubs is vital. We have seen 76 hubs open across the country in the last few years. Clearly, there is an appetite and a need for them, but it does not make sense to the public, as has been alluded to, that they can pitch up to these places with a post office sign outside, but they cannot even buy a stamp inside. I do hope that that can be rectified.
The other challenge is that an area cannot have a banking hub while a bank is still present. Perhaps that is the silver lining to yesterday’s announcement that the Lloyds bank in the same location, on Plymstock Broadway, is closing in November. That will be a massive hit, as it has the only cash machine for the entire community. However, as I have been saying to my constituents, perhaps the silver lining is that we will see more banking available and, if the Government heed our calls today, that future post office as well. Perhaps we have to circumvent the system to get what we want. It would mean that we can now explore a banking hub and retain those banking services.
Clearly, there is a long way to go. I am sure that there are Members in the Chamber today who have secured banking hubs. I am told that it takes a big fight, but most of us are here because we are campaigners. Within an hour of the announcement of the closure of the Lloyds bank, we went out to the press, and we will do all we can to get a banking hub. However, I want to be able to reassure my constituents that this will solve the lack of a post office as well, so I do hope that we can see that policy change. There is a long way to go: we have to secure a venue, an operator and that policy change to see our post office services return.
Since I shared the idea yesterday, there has been huge local interest. People are really getting the idea of a banking hub—they are on board; it is what the community wants. I have had two conversations already with potential operators, one of whom I know runs a service in a neighbouring constituency and is doing a really good job there. So we have the interest; we have businessmen and women who want to do this. They have not been able to deliver it on the franchise model, but it seems that they can deliver it on the banking hub model.
We want to see this idea delivered, because even the shopping centre knows that, in order to get the footfall for all the other local businesses, having a bank and a post office for access to cash is vital. Even the local library needs that cash access, and if it is not available, there is going to be a problem. Local people need these vital services and amenities, and that is why we need to secure a banking hub.
I say to my constituents, particularly those in Plymstock, that they have my absolute commitment to fighting for this. I would add that we have some fabulous small community post offices in our villages; it is not all a bad news story. The Newton Ferrers shop, for example, has a fabulous post office counter, and attempts are made right across our constituencies to deliver these services for our constituents. However, where there is a problem like the one we are facing today, with closing banks and closing main branches, we do need to step up and take action.
To close, I will ask a few questions of the Minister. I have highlighted the reality of the current post office offer and, as I said, it is not all bad. He has kindly said that I can share some details about my constituency with him, which I will do, but I think it would be good to get the answers on the record in the Chamber. Does the Minister accept that downgrading a service from a main branch to a franchised local service hinders the replacement of post office services? Will he explore the fact that the current Post Office dataset does not allow for what will happen in the future? If a retirement is coming down the road, we should be able to business-plan around that and at the moment we cannot. Can the Minister reassure the House that he remains committed to delivering banking hubs, and say whether will they will incorporate postal facilities so that we can deliver for our constituents?