UK still facing mass post office closures, NFSP survey revea

[TrueBlueTerrier]

UK still facing mass post office closures, NFSP survey reveals

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A new survey by the National Federation of SubPostmasters (NFSP) has revealed a “disastrous financial situation” for the majority of post offices struggling to survive in the wake of falling incomes and a lack of new work.

The NFSP said the futures of a large number of post offices are under serious threat, as well as a significant number of crucial local retail outlets.

NFSP said its survey reveals a clear failure in the government’s plan to turn post offices into a ‘front office’ for new government services, announced in 2010. It says in reality, the survey shows few new services have been introduced since 2010 and most of the much-trumpeted financial and government services are yielding little or no income for the vast majority of subpostmasters.

The NFSP said almost no subpostmasters receive any income at all from many of the key Post Office financial services, and that subpostmasters are in fact earning less from Post Office financial services than they were three years ago.

NFSP general secretary George Thomson said: “There is now little doubt that the government’s promise of no more planned closures was hollow, and that the failure to make full use of the network will lead to mass closures through the back door.

“Subpostmasters are angry over the shocking failure of both Post Office financial services and government services to bring in any material increase in revenue for the vast majority of sub post offices, leaving many with an extremely uncertain future.

“Urgent action must be taken to avert a major financial crisis in the post office network, and further post office closures which will leave the network unable to compete with competitors at a time of huge change. We are looking at all our options to ensure vital changes are made.”

The NFSP believes the key to post office survival is the introduction of banking and financial services which lead to frequent repeat transactions in post offices, including comprehensive access to all high street bank accounts. The NFSP is concerned that the new Post Office current account, while welcome, will fail to deliver any significant income boost for the network if the service is insufficiently distinctive from other products in an already highly competitive market.

Instead, the NFSP believes that the Post Office current account should form part of a wider suite of banking services, which could include accounts aimed at children and small businesses, and a budgeting account and/or credit union access, for Universal Credit claimants. A state-backed Postbank offering distinctive high quality services to all sections of society should also be developed.

It said a comprehensive range of central and local government services, complementing online provision, must be provided at post offices, with many of these services resulting in frequent repeat transactions.

[capricorn]

Can anyone explain how sub-post officers are paid & the business financed?

I was told that sub POs provide their own premises, and if they're only on an hourly rate where is the POST OFFICE making savings by closing them down???

Historically, I have always seen sub PO's as the core business along with RM deliveries, but then I do live in a dream world

[subbie]

Sub Offices in the main are paid a fixed annual sum (called the core tier) combined with commission on sales, (called the sales tier payments)

The Gov provide subsidy that POL use to underpin the Core tier, the Gov want to reduce this subsidy drastically, so POL are trying to find a way of just paying a Sub PO by commission on sales only, thus shunting the costs of providing the service we provide onto the bottom line of a Postmasters private business that we all tend to have.

Cost shunting its going on everywhere it starts in Whitehall and ends up with you and me!

Subbie

[UnhappyGremlin]

And that's why they are now taking action, they are having their pay savagely cut.
Meanwhile, the Government is trying to get out of having to maintain the service to cut costs of their budget.
And they still deny that there will be any post office closures. It's not rocket science. The network will at least halve in the next 5 years or so.