The British government yesterday confirmed plans to close 2,500 of the country’s 14,300 postoffices. About 4,600 outlets have already been shut over the last ten years.
The cuts, due to be implemented over the next 18 months, were initially announced lastDecember pending a consultation period. There will now be local consultations over which postoffices will close.
Trade and industry secretary Alistair Darling told Parliament that the Post Office networklosses had doubled to GBP 4 million a week over the last two years, and the present network wasunsustainable.
But a purely commercial network would only require about 4,000 outlets, and the UK wouldtherefore continue to subsidise a national network with GBP 1.7 billion up to 2011, he said.
About 70 of the 458 loss-making Royal Mail-run post offices are due to transfer to theretailer WH Smith. The Post Office Ltd. also plans to set up 500 outlets for small, remotecommunities, including mobile post offices and services in village halls, community centres andpubs, to replace closed post offices. The vast majority of UK post offices are managed andpartly-owned by their sub-postmasters or franchisees.
The Post Office would be encouraged to offer more services to generate greater use of itsbranches and compensate for falling mail revenues, the minister said. For example, it will link upwith BT to offer broadband internet services under a four-year deal to complement its existingHomePhone voice line offer.
In response, Millie Banerjee, head of the postal watchdog organisation, Postwatch, commented:“This will not be a popular decision. But there is a broad consensus amongst those who have beenconsidering the future of post offices that quite severe pruning is necessary if the remainingnetwork is to be sustainable.”
Nigel Stapleton, chairman of Postcomm, the UK independent postal regulator, said: “Steps tosecure the long-term sustainability of the Post Office network must now be the priority. TheGovernment’s timetable for closures is ambitious and it is vital that, at the same time, PostOffices are being given the right range of services and products to give them a long term future.In order for it to survive, the Post Office network needs a clear vision, well trained andmotivated people and associated set of commercial products and services.”
