Dire warning over future of many Scottish post offices

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THE leader of the UK’s sub-postmasters has claimed that two out of three post offices in the west Highlands could close in the new few years.

George Thomson, the general secretary of the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters, said the Post Office network in small Scottish communities could disappear for good.

Mr Thomson said: “If you draw a line from Glasgow to Inverness, two-thirds of the rural post offices west of this line are not viable as they currently stand.

“We face the closure of 500-600 more post offices in Scotland unless the politicians of all persuasions start to appreciate the seriousness of the situation.

“When the UK faced financial Armageddon last year, and the banks’ cash machines network was within hours of running out of cash, emergency contingency plans were being made by the UK Government across the country with the Post Office to ensure that people on child and disability benefit, and pensioners received cash.

“We were an important national asset then. Yet the government is not willing to make a commitment to creating a national PostBank, which would help keep hundreds of post offices open.”

Meanwhile, a Highland councillor is calling for the Post Office to provide post boxes for large items in rural communities.

Inverness Ness-side councillor John Finnie wants the company to give more practical help to those places which have lost their post offices, and has written to the Post Office’s chief executive Adam Crozier.
creative

Mr Finnie said: “To address the removal of postal services for many communities requires some creative thinking, and we must help folk who now have to travel distances to post anything larger than a paperback book.

“If the Post Office introduced larger boxes, with secure opening mechanisms, then vast amounts of time, hassle and cost could be avoided.

“The suggestion would require users to be given clear information on the sizes and weights allowed for self postage and it would be a boost to both individuals and the many small businesses which operate in rural areas.

“Simple steps could make life easier for people and small businesses throughout the Highlands, and I want to see the energy the Post Office devotes to cost-cutting applied to thinking about providing a better service.”

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