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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what process his Department uses to re-open a post office that has been subject to temporary closure.

The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government 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 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. With a network of over 11,500 branches, temporary closures can and do occur, often for reasons beyond the Post Office’s control. When this happens, the Post Office works hard to reinstate a permanent service for the community as soon as practically possible.

The management of the branch network is an operational responsibility of the Post Office Limited. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Group Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.