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By Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP - 2nd November 2010
Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP writes for ePolitix.com ahead of his Westminster Hall debate on the future of the Post Office network.
The future of the Royal Mail and the Post Office has been a topic of great debate both in and outside of Westminster, demonstrating the importance of the issue to the nation.
The Postal Services Bill received its second reading last Wednesday, where the government set out plans for the privatisation of Royal Mail and to deal with the £8bn pensions deficit. Equally importantly the Bill provides for mutualisation of the Post Office and an injection of £1.34bn of new capital, a commitment to the universal postal service and no forced closures of post offices.
Today I will call a debate on the proposals for the future of the Post Office Network. In 2008 5,000 post offices were closed, including 12 in my constituency. These closures were often forced through by the Labour government often against the better judgement of the Post Office who knew that in some circumstances profitable branches were being closed down. So badly thought out were some of the closures that a third of Gordon Brown's own cabinet actively campaigned against them.
The closure of a post office branch can have a huge negative effect on the local community, particularly in rural areas where there is often no public transport and other local amenities such as pubs, schools and local shops have also declined in number. As the business secretary Vince Cable, said in the debate last Wednesday:
"...the post office plays an essential social and economic role in our community."
In this debate I will put forward my proposals to rectify the mistakes that were made in 2008, in particular the closure of two branches in Stratton and The Beeches, both on the outskirts of the market town of Cirencester. However, I believe the proposal I will put forward can be implemented in similar situations nationwide.
The results of the closures of the Stratton and The Beeches branches is that over 17,000 people are forced to use a single branch, that was already unsuitable, in the centre of Cirencester. Indeed, the residents of 21 villages covering 100 square miles now only have access to this 1 post office.
The Cirencester branch was already blighted by long queues, had poor parking facilities and was particularly inaccessible for the disabled and the elderly, which make up a significant proportion of the local population. Whilst this was in line with the Post Offices access policy it was not within the spirit.
My concerns regarding the unsuitability of the Cirencester branch to deal with the influx of new customers proved to be correct. Around 650 new houses are now being built in The Beeches and this coupled with the subsequent relocation of the Cirencester branch has merely added to congestion and caused additional unnecessary car usage.
The proposal I am putting forward today is fairly simple: to create outreach service in both Stratton and the Beeches with each open on the alternative 2.5 days a week. The result would be to ease the demands on Cirencester without affecting its profitability and would in fact provide scope for recovering business lost since the closures of the branches in Stratton and The Beeches.
These proposals would have no fixed costs in terms of property, as the previous locations can be revived; no post master salary as the post master at Bourton-on-the-Water already provides a well-functioning outreach service elsewhere in the Cotswolds and has the capacity and desire to take on more such work. As such this proposal only has minimal variable costs which can be more than covered by the additional business generated.
Whilst I have chosen to present the case for Stratton and The Beeches I have no doubt that this idea could be implemented nationwide.
I hope that the government will work with the Post Office and take these proposals forward and demonstrate this government's commitment to protecting and growing the Post Office Network and to providing a postal service which will be utilised because it is convenient.
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