Post Office Closures in York - misunderstanding, complacency and missed opportunities

Wed 16th Jan 2008

“We all have broadband. I do not have anything against the Post Office-it is just common sense. No one can argue against technology.” Michael Connarty, Labour MP for Linlithgow & Falkirk East

If you're wondering why sub-post offices all around the country are closing, including the one in Clifton, look no further than those telling words from a Labour MP speaking during the House of Commons Opposition Day Post Office debate on 16th October 2006.

The truth is that we don't all have broadband. The Department of Media, Culture and Sport select committee have accused the government of failing to take account of citizens' needs, and have challenged e-Minister Patricia Hewitt's assertion that the UK is leading broadband roll out in Europe. In June last year Computing Magazine estimated that there were around 4.8 million homes with PCs but without Broadband. The government's own statistics for 2005/06 show that in the lowest income group only 29% owned a home computer and only 17% had an internet connection. What about all these people who don't have a home computer or access to the internet? Don't they matter?

In spite of this the government appears to be doing all it can to remove services from post offices.

Car tax discs

The DVLA, part of the apparatus of government, no longer bothers to inform the public on their tax disc renewal forms that they can renew their car tax at the Post Office.

Television licences

We can no longer renew our television licence at the post office.

“I have just received a reminder for my television licence, which said that I could no longer go to the post office to renew it, but I could go to a shop called 'Supercigs'. I was puzzled by that, because as I understand it, we want to encourage people to go to post offices and dissuade people from going to tobacco shops. However, we have a policy that sends them to tobacco shops.'Tony Wright [Labour MP, Cannock Chase]

Ms Pipa Doubtfire, the head of revenue management at the BBC, explained the BBC's decision to no longer use the post office service for renewing tv licences, "the Post Office, which now has fewer than 15,000 branches, could not give us any assurance that its network would not continue to decline".

Why can't the Post Office give any reassurance? Because the government's programme won't allow it. The longer the uncertainty continues the more business the Post Office loses. Since Labour came to power in 1997 almost a quarter of all post offices have disappeared while the government continues to pretend it is doing all it can to protect them.

The Post Office Card Account

Why is the government refusing to confirm a long term future for post office card accounts? The government says everyone can use a bank account instead.

As with broadband so with banking. Around a million of our most vulnerable people cannot get a bank account because, for example, they do not have the necessary credit rating or because they have been in prison. Many of these people rely on Post Office Card Accounts. Don't they matter?

Post Office 'losing' £4 million a week

Government says the post office is losing £4 million a week, as is they were no social dimension to post offices. Apparently it is all our fault. Many of us live in communities that are too small, or too poor. Do we talk of schools losing £x million a week? Or libraries? Labour says that people now have access to ATM cash machines so we don't need post offices. Sounds great except that many machines charge you for the privilege of withdrawing your own money, and for those on low or fixed incomes the charge can take a huge chunk out of your weekly money. Labour Minister Jim Fitzpatrick promised the 1500 free ATMs would be installed in post offices in due course, but if the post offices have all closed where will they put the machines?

Independent research shows closing sub-post offices leads to closing off local shops threatening the long term sustainability of whole communities.

Now you see them ...

When Labour took power in 1997 there were almost 20,000 post offices across the country, now there are 14,300. Sooner there will be fewer than 12,000. Two post offices have closed under every working day of this Labour government.

The National Federation of Sub-Postmaster has said that scrapping the Post Office Card Account “will close thousands of post offices.'

The government created a special cabinet committee chaired by the deputy prime minister to look into the post office network. As of Oct 2006 it had met only once and produced no recommendations.

What the Lib Dems would do

Lib Dems are calling for commercial restraints on the Post Office's activities to be removed. This would allow post offices to form new working arrangement with other postal carriers.

Isn't it ridiculous that if, say, DHL turns up at your house when you aren't in they leave you a card telling you to drive right across town to collect your package? They should be leaving you a card telling you that you can collect your package at your local post office. That would reduce CO2 emissions and pollution and bring business to the post office. Why is the Labour Government refusing to enable the post office to generate new business? It works in Sweden and Switzerland and other countries in Europe. Isn't it ironic that the government is happy to see post offices diversify into selling cuddly toys, keep fit videos, dvd players and potatoes but not help those same post offices do more of what they were created to do in the first place - collect and deliver parcels and letters

Published and promoted by Christian Vassie, 10 Blake Court, Wheldrake, York YO19 6BT