Government accused of 'letting down' the Post office

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Government accused of 'letting down' the Post office as revenues plummet by £55million

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The three organisations which represent Post Office workers have come together to demand urgent action

The Government has been accused of “letting down” the Post Office after it revealed a drop in sales.

Revenues fell by £55million last year as the network suffered a cut in taxpayer support and fewer parcels because of competition and a price rise.

The decline prompted the three organisations which represent Post Office workers to come together to demand urgent action.

The Communication Workers Union, along with Unite and the National ­Federation of SubPostmasters, issued
a joint statement expressing their “deep concern”.

They said: “The Post Office has been let down by the Government, which has continually failed to fulfil its promises to reverse the decline in the business.

“We are calling on ministers to respond to these results and ensure that urgent action is taken to address the growing crisis facing Post Office Ltd and the national network of post offices.”

Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, went further by saying: “With no serious Government or company growth strategy in place, the current managed decline of the business will become terminal.”

The coordinated attack came despite the Post Office announcing profits rose from £94m to £107m last year.

However, the increase was thanks to cost cutting – as revenues fell to just under £1.18billion.

Revenue from mail and retail, the biggest bit of the business, fell 4.6% to £390m, partly because of competition in the parcels business.

Meanwhile, money from supplying Government services fell 11% to £146m after income from supplying road tax discs dropped £14m.

And the fact that more people get their benefits paid directly into their bank accounts wiped £6m off fees for running the Post Office Card Accounts.

A network support payment from the Government fell £10m to £200m last year, and will drop to £160m this year.

Post Office boss Paula Vennells, who saw her pay and perks package drop from nearly £700,000 to almost £544,000 last year, insisted the network was fighting back, partly thanks to modernising branches.

She said: “It is clear we must operate at greater pace than every before, and focus on our customers and commercial ­realities.”