UK post offices may go, warn MPs

Britain’s post office network could vanish unless the Government acts to protect it, MPs have warned.

Sub-postmasters feel “betrayed” by the decision to axe the Post Office Card Account, which has threatened their livelihood, according to the Trade and Industry Select Committee.

The committee is chaired by Mid Worcestershire MP Peter Luff (Con) and members include Julie Kirkbride (Con Bromsgrove) and Rob Marris (Lab Wolverhampton South West).

Post Office Card Accounts were introduced when the Government began paying benefits and state pensions directly into customers’ bank accounts.

They are the equivalent of a very basic bank account, designed to ensure people who did not have traditional bank accounts can still receive their money.

However, the card accounts are now set to be axed, hitting the income of many post offices.

The MPs said they were especially concerned about the impact on commercially unvi-able parts of the network and the implications Post Office branch closures would have on their wider communities.

The scathing report says: “If the Government fails to act, the network and all the benefits it provides for communities could be lost forever.

“If the country wants a comprehensive network of Post Offices to continue, a more explicit funding mechanism must be put in place, together with product diversification and a replacement for the Post Office Card Account.”

Mr Luff, said the committee recognised the Post Office could not be isolated from wider social, commercial and technological change.

He added: “There was widespread, if reluctant, acceptance among our witnesses that the current network of 14,500 branches is probably unsustainable.

“We expect the Government to work with Royal Mail Group and the regulator. If the country wants a comprehensive network of Post Offices to continue, a more explicit funding mechanism must be put in place.”