Why the closures are happening - The Post Office Network Change Programme
1. Under the Post Office Network Change programme, the Post
Office will close up to 2500 Post Offices across the UK from
both urban and rural areas. 500 of these will become Outreach
services.
2. The existing Post Office Network of 14,500 branches is
considered to be unsustainable. The Network as a whole is losing
almost £4million per week. Over 80% of the rural network is
unprofitable. More than half of the rural network has fewer than
500 customers each week.
3. DTI published ‘The Post Office Network: A Consultation
Document’ in December 2006, and accepted responses until March
2007. In May 2007, DTI confirmed that:
- 2,500 Post Offices will be closed in
England and Wales by December 2008 (estimated 1,250 in rural
areas)
- The closures proposed will be based
primarily on financial viability and number of customers
- Post Office Limited will introduce
access criteria
- New Outreach facilities will be
introduced to sustain access to Post Office services in
rural areas (further details below)
- All proposed closures will be subject to a local
consultation, lasting six weeks
4. The programme also includes the setting up of 500 new
outreach Post Office
outlets for smaller communities.
How will the consultation process be carried out by Post
Office Ltd?
5.
Post Office Ltd is conducting a programme of consultation on
the post offices earmarked for closure. The UK has been divided
up into about 50 areas and each will be included in an Area Plan
detailing what changes are proposed for that area.
6. The
public consultation on the Area Plan that includes
Bedfordshire commenced on 8 July and will close on 26 August
2008. The consultation will be publicised at the relevant Post
Offices within the area. Various organisations will be consulted
formally. The public consultation immediately follows a 9-10
week pre-consultation carried out by Post Office Ltd. While
pre-consultation proposals are not published, this period allows
Postwatch (the Postal Services Watchdog) to scrutinise
proposals, and individual sub-postmasters to be informed of the
plans.
7. The number of Post Offices to be closed has been set at a
fixed level (2,500 nationally). Therefore it is not expected
that the consultations will result in a fall in the number of
closures. There is, however, an opportunity for the public to
influence the location of the closures, to ensure that the most
appropriate Post Offices are affected by this closure programme.
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