Government offer no hope to struggling postmasters says Euro-MP
October 17, 2002 12:00 AM
A Warwickshire Euro-MP has criticised the government's plans to close 3,000 urban sub post offices following a House of Commons debate on the subject on Tuesday.
Liz Lynne commented: "The government's plans are skewed massively in favour of closing 1 in 3 of all urban post offices, and offer the remaining post offices very little to ensure they can survive. The potential increase in revenue the remaining post offices could receive by shrinking the network will be wiped out by the new scheme of paying benefits directly into bank accounts. The government's only solution is to offer grants to the more run down post offices for a refit. This is no long term solution."
Last week Liz drew attention to the fact that the government is preventing sub-postmasters from advertising that they will still be able to hand out pensions and benefits over the counter. Furthermore, the government's "Your Guide" initiative, which would enable post offices to offer a range of government and advice services, will now not be rolled out nationwide, despite a successful pilot scheme run in Rutland and Leicestershire.
"By reducing existing income streams and failing to offer any alternatives, the government is offering no hope to struggling postmasters. Unless the government are prepared to invest in long term solutions, these 3,000 closures are likely to be just the first wave," Liz added.
You can support the Liberal Democrat campaign against post office closures by clicking here
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats