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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the investment provided to the Post Office by the Government in November 2020 to maintain and enhance the network of post offices in England.

Over the past ten years, the Government has provided over £2.5 billion in funding to support the Post Office network. The funding includes a subsidy to ensure the viability of rural and community branches. Since 2019 this subsidy has been maintained at £50 million a year and will remain at the same level until 2025.

Through Government funding, Post Office Limited (POL) is on a more sustainable footing; ensuring POL continues to meet the core requirements for the network, including maintaining a network of at least 11,500 branches and ensuring that 99% of the UK population lives within three miles of their nearest branch.