Post Office card U-turn condemned

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The Government has been accused of "reneging" on a promise to give the poorest families fair banking by scrapping plans to reform the Post Office Card Account.

Charity Barnardo's said the reform would have enabled poor families without a bank account to reap the rewards other families received from paying bills by direct debit.

Barnardo's chief executive Martin Narey said: "The Government decision not to reform the Post Office Card Account may seem trivial for many families, but for the poorest in the UK it is depressing news and will make climbing out of poverty that bit harder.

"We make their plight worse by denying them the opportunity to reduce outgoings - as the rest of us can and do - by paying bills by direct debit. The Government cannot renege on its promise to fix this."

Barnardo's said poorer families are having to pay at least £50 extra on bills such as electricity and phones this winter if they cannot pay by direct debit.