Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if his Department will take steps to ensure that Post Office Ltd is able to renew the licences of all ATMs based in Post Offices which are due to expire in the next 12 months.

The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK, which is why we committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.

While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The renewal of licences for ATMs in Post Offices is an operational matter for Post Office Limited. I have asked Nick Read, the Group Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the Hon Member about Post Office Limited’s plans for renewal of ATM licences due to expire in the next 12 months. A copy of his reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.