Post Offices: South West
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to improve access to Post Office services in (a) Gloucester and (b) the South West.
Answered by Gareth Thomas
Government remains committed to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Post Office network, and as stated in our manifesto, Government will work to strengthen the network in the South West and across the country in consultation with postmasters, trade unions and customers.
Government already provides an annual £50m Network Subsidy funding to support the delivery of a minimum number of branches and a geographical spread of branches in line with published access criteria. This requires 99% of the UK population to be within three miles of their nearest Post Office outlet therefore ensuring the viability of rural and community branches. The Government-set Access Criteria ensures that however the network changes, services remain within local reach of all citizens.
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