Postwatch: Inquiry into post office closures

The House of Commons Business & Enterprise Select Committee has just announced a new inquiry into early experiences of the Post Office’s ‘Network Change Programme’ for restructuring the sub-post office network. It will also look at the implications of the changes to the Crown post office network and the transfer of many such offices to retail outlets, such as branches of WH Smith.

The Trade & Industry Committee (which this Committee recently replaced) examined the Government’s proposed framework for a new round of post office closures in two reports earlier this year. These reports persuaded the Government to refine the access criteria and their application. The Committee will now look at how the process is being carried out in practice.

The Committee intends to focus on:

– experience of the local consultation process so far;
– the extent to which final decisions have taken local views into account;
– the nature of the proposed 500 ‘Outreach’ services and service quality;
– the role of Postwatch in the current Programme and in the future;
– how changes to the Crown post office network interact with sub-post office closures;
– the future of both Crown and sub-post office networks.

Postwatch will submit evidence to this inquiry and appear before the Committee.