Post Office network is vital to our community

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By Eilidh Whiteford MP
Published: 16 November, 2010

ONE of the most significant developments for North-east Scotland in recent days has been the long-anticipated publication of the UK Government's paper on the future of the Post Office network.

The document, 'Securing the Post Office network in the Digital Age', presents some interesting ideas that are worth pursuing, but it also presents real risks for the future of postal services in rural communities.

Even now, in these days of advanced technology and increased use of telephones and email, postal services remain an essential part of our communications infrastructure.

Individuals and businesses alike rely on the Post Office and Royal Mail, and value the services provided. Access to a post office is economically and socially vital for rural areas.

The Government's new proposals highlight the opportunity to make the Post Office more of a 'front office' for Government services. This is certainly not a new idea - indeed, some might see it as a return to some of the Post Office's historic functions, but it's a welcome initiative that should be pursued.

Another change proposed will be a deal with the major banks to allow more of their accounts to be accessible through post offices.

While that move has the potential to boost competition in banking services in remote areas, I'm disappointed that UK Ministers have rejected the idea of a Post Bank, as proposed by the Federation of Small Business, the New Economics Foundation and others.

A Post Bank would be an excellent way to increase access to a basic bank account for those currently excluded from mainstream banking services, and would be attractive to many small businesses in rural communities. I will continue to press for a Post Bank, and attempt to persuade the Government to reconsider the benefits to areas like ours.

For me, the biggest concern raised by these proposals has to be the potential concentration of Post Office services, which could only be to the detriment of rural communities.

We have seen a number of small rural post offices close in Banff and Buchan in recent years, in spite of innovative efforts in some villages to diversify Post Office businesses and make them more sustainable, something the Scottish Government has actively supported through its Challenge Fund for sub-post offices.

The UK Government says it wants to retain the Post Office network at around its present size, but it also states its intention is to develop around 4,000 "main post offices".

This should rings alarm bells in North-east Scotland, because this is the figure long quoted as the number of post offices required for a commercial network, rather than one that provides a service across the whole country.

There's no definition of a "main post office" but it's unlikely that many will be in small towns or villages. There is a real danger that if the focus shifts to larger post offices in urban centres, smaller towns and villages will be left with a second-class service.

I took part in a debate on the future of the Post Office in Westminster last week, and I'll continue to fight to retain high quality, viable local postal services.