Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife) (LD)

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Many of the 29 post offices in North East Fife are still at the heart of small rural communities, and provide vital services to residents, particularly older neighbours in the community, who make use of in-person services. The proposed closure of counters at the Spar branches in Balmullo, Ladybank, Newport and Tom Morris Drive, St Andrews, will have significant consequences for all the communities affected, and it is particularly concerning that the closures come not long after bank branch closures in my seat, which were partly rationalised on the grounds that residents could still access cash services via post office branches. The fact that more 1,300 people have signed the petition shows how strongly people in North East Fife feel about this, and I present it to Parliament to highlight the importance of the issue to Spar, C.J. Lang and the Post Office, and encourage them proactively to engage to reverse the closures. I therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to engage with the Post Office and C.J. Lang and advise them to withdraw the proposal to close these services in North East Fife.

The petition states:

The petition of residents of the constituency of North East Fife,

Declares that accessible local Post Office counter services are incredibly important; notes that many people rely on these services, particularly older residents; further that the closures of such services would cut off residents from public services; declares that Spar should engage with local and national governments and Post Office Ltd in preserving these services and ultimately reverse the proposal to close the Post Office counter services in Newport-on-Tay, Balmullo, Ladybank and Tom Morris Drive St Andrews.

The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urge the Government to engage with Spar and advise them to reverse the proposal to close Post Office counter services in North East Fife.

And the petitioners remain, etc.

[P002678]