Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he has taken ensure the continued availability of post office services in rural communities in (a) Newcastle-under-Lyme constituency and (b) Staffordshire since his appointment.

The Government protects the sustainability of the Post Office network - and the rural network in particular - by providing an annual Network Subsidy. This ensures Post Office Limited maintains a minimum number of branches and a geographical spread of branches in line with the Government-set access criteria.

This financial year we are providing £83 million in subsidy, up from £50 million previously, and building on the uplift provided last year. The access criteria ensures that, however the network changes, 99% of the UK population live within three miles of their nearest Post Office.