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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how his Department monitors the public funding used to refurbish Crown post offices to ensure those funds achieve the expected outcomes; and how much was spent from the public purse on refurbishing post office branches that subsequently lost Crown status in each of the last six years.

The operation and refurbishment of its Crown post offices is the responsibility of Post Office Limited. However, the Government, in its role as shareholder, constantly monitors Post Office’s performance, which has improved significantly through Government’s investment, and has seen the Crown network move from a loss of £46m per annum to breakeven today.

I have asked Paula Vennells, the Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the Hon Member on this matter and provide further detail on the information requested. A copy of her reply will be placed in the libraries of the House.