Post Office

Russell Brown Excerpts

Wednesday 27th November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Jo Swinson]

First, I would point out to the hon. Gentleman that he is talking about two entirely separate companies, because Royal Mail is separate from the Post Office. The privatisation of Royal Mail has, I understand, been discussed at length in the House and, indeed, this morning in the Select Committee on Business, Innovation and Skills, which took evidence from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, my right hon. Friend the Member for Sevenoaks (Michael Fallon). I would gently say that making a judgment some short weeks after flotation is perhaps not the best way of judging a company’s long-term share price.

[Mr Russell Brown (Dumfries and Galloway) (Lab)]

As chair of the all-party group on post offices, may I tell the Minister that I warmly welcome the additional investment that she has announced? However, I think that there is an element of denial about what is going on out there. Perhaps she can share with the House how many post offices have been closed temporarily and how many are under temporary management? How much of the £1.34 billion allocation has been spent on modernisation, and how much has been spent to provide an enhanced package for people to leave? Can she tell the House the value of the 10 contracts that have been won, and how many of them were new contracts, not contracts up for renewal?

[Jo Swinson]

I shall endeavour to give a full answer to all those points but, if the House will forgive me, I shall write with all the details on those questions. As for temporary closures, I think it is about 400, but I can obtain the most up-to-date figures. As the hon. Gentleman can imagine, the figure fluctuates. I accept that it is important that we make sure that Government work is available as part of a mix of services and income streams that the Post Office can access. I absolutely accept that things are not easy, and I have said that a number of times when responding to questions this afternoon. I would not wish to suggest that it is an easy life being a sub-postmaster, because it is not, but we are trying to create a sustainable network for the future and, indeed, in communities that have experienced temporary closures, to look at what more we can do to make sure that post office services are delivered to those communities.