Closure of 3,000 Sub-Post Offices endorsed
MPs last night overwhelmingly endorsed government proposals to rescue Britain’s ailing postal service with a pounds 210m package of subsidies that will allow the closure of up to 3,000 urban sub-post offices deemed surplus to modern consumer needs.
Though the trade minister, Stephen Timms, assured MPs there is no longer enough work to sustain the historic network of 9,000 local branches, he faced criticism from backbenchers on all sides that many of the country’s most deprived areas would suffer.
As fewer customers collect their pensions and benefits in person, some sub-postmasters will be offered two years’ pay to leave the business while remaining branches will be given up to pounds 10,000 each for improvements.
“We need to take this opportunity to set urban post offices firmly on the path towards sustained viability which is the key to enabling them to offer improved services for their customers from better, more convenient and more accessible locations,” Mr Timms said.
After being promised consultation to find volunteers for redundancy in the “largest retail networkof any organisation in Europe”, MPs approved the EU-endorsed compensation package by 271 votes to 170.
Mr Timms said at least 95% of people in urban areas would still be within a mile of a post office, most within half a mile. “Without the programme, more and more urban sub-postmasters would just shut down, even without any prospect of compensation – causing much greater disruption to customers.”
The Tory spokesman, Andrew Rowbotham, warned that government “bullying” was forcing postal officials to enforce an inadequate package, while Labour critics warned it would undermine the government’s policies to curb social exclusion.
