UK village post offices: what next?

Innovative alternatives to the traditional post office could provide postal products to rural communities more cost-effectively, a report revealed today.

In a series of trials, more than 50 villages were provided with the products normally available in their local post office a range of different ways.

A “virtual service”, in which customers could order products such as stamps over the phone or internet for home delivery, and a mobile service which tours villages in a van, were among the methods piloted by the Post Office study.

The Rural Pilot Activity also tested services where the post office was provided in a local shop or church hall or a post office employee travelled to the village to provide the service in a host premises.

There are currently 8,000 rural Post Office branches, most of which make a loss.

The Government pays a £150 million social network payment each year to maintain rural post offices, which it is committed to paying up until 2008.

Royal Mail Group's chief executive Adam Crozier said today's report did not provide the answer to the issue of how to create a viable rural network in the future, which would require further debate.

But he said: “The report does indicate some of the building blocks upon which a sustainable future might be built and, therefore, it represents a real and positive step forward.

“Millions of customers are served every week at rural Post Office branches.

“But the economic realities cannot be ignored. The majority of rural branches lose money,” he said.

Mr Crozier said the customer base was often too small to be commercially viable and – with the decline of Government business going through the post office network – a full debate of the future of rural post offices was needed.

The Government, which had commissioned the research, welcomed the study and said further debate was needed on the issues it raised.

As a result, Minister for Competitiveness Barry Gardiner said the `no avoidable closures' policy for rural post offices had been extended from the end of the month to the autumn.

“This report will help users to understand better the range of delivery options being tested by Post Office Ltd,” he said.

“It will make an important contribution to the ongoing discussions about the most effective way to deliver post office services in the 21st century.”

POST OFFICE PUBLISHES REPORT ON PILOT ACTIVITY LOOKING AT NEW WAYS OF DELIVERING POSTAL SERVICES
PA News, p 1 03-08-2006

DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY News Release (P/2006/065) issued by The Government News Network on 8 March 2006

Post Office Limited has today published a report on Rural Pilot Activity. The work was commissioned by the Government to report on the findings of their trials of new, innovative and cost-effective ways of delivering post office services to rural communities.

The trials include:

* Home service – where customers can order a range of postal products from their nearest post office and those products are then delivered to their home or to a community meeting point;

* Partner service – where a basic post office service is provided by a third party in an established local business such as a local shop;

* Mobile service – where a service is delivered to a number of communities by mobile outlets; and

* Hosted Service – where an employee of a nearby post office travels to provide a full post office service in a 'host' premises situated in the nearby community (such as a shop, petrol station, village hall or church).

Minister for Competitiveness, Barry Gardiner MP said:

“This report will help users to understand better the range of delivery options being tested by Post Office Ltd. It will make an important contribution to the ongoing discussions about the most effective way to deliver post office services in the 21st century.”

“Our commitment to a modern and effective post office is demonstrated by our track record of providing annual support of £150m to 2008 to maintain the rural network “.

Wider consideration and debate of the issues raised in this report is important and for that reason the no avoidable closures policy for rural post offices, which had already been committed to until the end of the current month will now be extended until the Autumn.

The recent state aid clearance by the European Commission on the Government's £300 million package ensures that official support for the rural post office network is now fixed in place for the next two years.

Notes to Editors

1. In her September 2004 statement to Parliament, then Secretary of State, Patricia Hewitt announced that POL would report to Government, the findings of their trials of new, innovative and cost-effective ways of delivering post office services to rural communities.

2. The Post Office Ltd. Rural Pilot Activity report can be found at http://www.royalmailgroup.com/news/news.asp

3. The European Commission announced on 24th February state aid clearance for the Government's £300 million package of support over the next two years.

4. In November 2000, following the Performance & Information Unit Report, then postal services Minister Alan Johnson, wrote to POL directing them to prevent avoidable closures of post office branches in rural areas.

Department of Trade and Industry
7th Floor
1 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0ET
Press Enquiries +44 (0)20 7215 5614/5978
(Out of Hours) +44 (0)20 7215 3234/3505
Public Enquiries +44 (0)20 7215 5000
Textphone +44 (0)20 7215 6740
(for those with hearing impairment)

Press Office Fax +44 (0)20 7222 4382

http://www.dti.gov.uk

Relevant Directory Listings

Listing image

PasarEx

PasarEx is a Colombian company that provides international express transportation services for air cargo, packages and documents, and last mile services for electronic commerce platforms. PasarEx is positioned in the logistics market in Colombia due to its rapid response and personalized attention and the use […]

Find out more

Other Directory Listings

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

P&P Poll

Loading

What’s the future of the postal USO?

Thank you for voting
You have already voted on this poll!
Please select an option!



MER Magazine


The Mail & Express Review (MER) Magazine is our quarterly print publication. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, MER is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.

 

News Archive

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This