Future of the Post Office

Sarah Dyke Excerpts

Monday 14th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Gareth Thomas]

The hon. Gentleman is right that we need to make the task of running a post office more attractive. That is why improving both the culture, so that postmasters feel listened to, and the remuneration are hugely important immediate tasks. The best commercial opportunities for post offices lie in the provision of banking services, rather than Government services. I hope that the banks and the financial services industry will have heard the message from Members from all parts of the House: we want them to do more to work with Government to take advantage of the potential opportunities. As I have committed to meeting other hon. Members to discuss local issues, I had better do the same for the hon. Gentleman.

[Sarah Dyke (Glastonbury and Somerton) (LD)]

I thank sub-postmasters across Glastonbury and Somerton, and across the country, in particular Jim Gordon from Martock. Many post offices in my constituency have closed in recent years, including those in Somerton, Butleigh, Charlton Adam, Charlton Mackrell, Keinton Mandeville and Sparkford, depriving their communities of a vital service. I recently met Mr and Mrs Thievendran from Somerton Stores, who are interested in opening a post office on their premises but are unable to do so because of the prohibitive costs involved. The owner of the Baltonsborough Village Store was considering doing the same but told me that the costs are extraordinary. What steps will the Minister take not only to put existing post offices on a sustainable footing, but to help rural towns and villages without a post office to regain one?

[Gareth Thomas]

As I have said, in our view we should retain the current size of the network and the current access criteria, which are key to ensuring that every community, whether rural or urban, has good access to post office services. I encourage the hon. Lady to reach out to the Post Office to discuss the particular issues facing the businesses to which she has referred, which are interested in running post office branches but feel unable to do so, to see whether anything can be done to ease those local challenges.

More generally, the issue the hon. Lady raises partly speaks to the challenge of increasing postmaster remuneration. Post Office senior management clearly recognise that: there was a £20 million uplift in postmaster remuneration in the last financial year, there will be a £66 million increase this year, and Post Office management are committed to looking to go even further. I hope that will make the opportunity to run a post office much more attractive, and may address some of the financial challenges she raised.