Labour Concerned About Ballot Box, Not Post Box

[jemima]

The SNP viewpoint

From http://www.snp.org/press-releases/2007/ ... -post-box/

"Weir – Labour Concerned About Ballot Box, Not Post Box - 2007-12-04
SNP Postal Affairs Spokesperson, Mike Weir MP, has today (Tuesday) condemned the UK Government's interference in the post office closure consultation process after receiving the copy of a letter sent by Post Office Limited which states that the Westminster Government have asked for a "freeze" on "highly sensitive" closures pending the local elections in England.

The letter goes on to say that the consultation processes in Edinburgh, the Lothians and Central Scotland will be delayed for four weeks after Post Office Ltd's proposals had to be revisited.

Commenting on the letter, Mr Weir said:

"From the beginning this consultation process has been deeply flawed, and now it is in complete disarray.

"To explicitly demand a freeze on the consultation process in England and Wales shows Labour are only concerned about the ballot box, not the post box.

"This issue is far too serious to be treated with this kind of cynicism, and the whole process, right across the network, should now be suspended.

"The Minister must also explain when he took the decision to defer the consultation process. We have always known that the English local and municipal elections were going to take place next May, why was this not considered before the original consultation programme was announced?

"This interference by the UK Government shows what a complete sham this process has been. Local communities and authorities must have a fair chance to challenge the proposals over the future of this essential local service."

ENDS

The text of the letter sent out by Post Office Limited is set out below:

20th November 2007

Dear

At the Network Change Roadshows earlier this year, we promised to keep you up to date with all developments affecting the Programme and the expected impact on you Post Office branches . I am now writing to inform you of changes to planned activity in Scotland that effect one of Scotland's local area plans.

Your branch is contained within the North east Tayside and Fife local are plan. Attached to this letter you will find a table that confirms when the Area Plan for your branch is being considered.

London Municipal elections and local authority elections in England and Wales will be held in May 2008. As you will be aware, the closures of any Post Office can be highly sensitive and can potentially become a local political issue.

For that reason, we have been asked by Government to introduce a freeze on some elements of the network Change Programme during the run up to these elections. Specifically, we shall not be running any public consultations nor making any final closure decisions, in the period immediately prior to elections from April 7th to May 2nd 2008.

Although Scotland is not directly affected by these elections, we have had to revisit all our plans. We have also reconsidered information presented to us about the difficulty for some local authorities being able to respond fully as the programme was due to commence public consultation for one of the local area plans at the end of July 2008.

We have therefore decided to delay public consultation by 4 weeks for one of Scotland's area plans, that for the Edinburgh, The Lothian's and Central Scotland area plan. This means that the programme for this plan will now commence at the end of May 2008. Please remember that you will not receive a visit from a Field Change Advisor if your branch is unlikely to be affected by this programme. Affected branches are those that

- likely to close

- are likely to become Core or Outreach branches

- might receive a significant number of new customers as a result of nearby closures

If you have any questions about these changes, please contact the Network Change Programme Office on 0207 354 7174

Your sincerely


Sue Huggins

Programme Director on behalf of Post Office Ltd"