James backs bold and decisive action to safeguard the PO

[TrueBlueTerrier]

James backs bold and decisive action to safeguard the post office network

http://www.politics.co.uk/mps/press-rel ... 286361.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

James Arbuthnot, Member of Parliament for North East Hampshire, has backed a new report by the National Federation of Sub Postmasters (NFSP) calling for “bold and decisive” action to reverse the continued decline of the UK’s post office network.

The report, “Six Steps to a Sustainable Post Office Network”, warns that the post office network’s future remains at risk and says the time has come to maximise the network’s huge and currently underused potential to deliver a wide range of products and services to communities and small business across the UK.

Among the report’s proposals is the need for central, devolved and local government to use the post office network’s unrivalled geographical reach to deliver more services; and the reiteration of the NFSP’s longstanding call for the creation of a trusted British Postbank at the Post Office – whether through bringing National Savings and Investments (NS&I) back into the Post Office with an enhanced portfolio of banking products, or the transfer of banking licenses of the recently nationalised banks to the Post Office.

Philip Dunne MP hosted the formal launch of the report on behalf of the All Party Parliamentary Group for post offices, at a reception in the Houses of Parliament on 23rd March 2009. In outlining the report’s recommendations, he said:

“This report from the NFSP, backed by the All Party Parliamentary Group, comes at the right time. Communities, small businesses and local shops across the country have been undermined by recent post office closures – we must now focus all our efforts on making sure the remaining post office network has a sustainable future. The recommendations set out in this report, if adopted, would help safeguard this vital part of the fabric of rural and urban life.”

Attending the launch, James added:

“I welcome this report, its recommendations and the work that the All Party Parliamentary Group for post offices has been undertaking. Just as in the rest of the UK, our post offices in North East Hampshire play a vital role in binding local communities together and providing a hub where vital services can be accessed easily and conveniently.

“Particularly now, with the economic downturn taking hold, it makes a great deal of sense to be supporting the post office network: not just in terms of those it employs, but also the range of services that it can provide to help get people the information they need and to help get them saving again.

“The post office is part of our way of life and we must do all that we can to ensure that it prospers in the years to come.”