Green Paper on the Future of Post Office

The Post Office is a vital part of the UK’s social and economic fabric. It supports communities, high streets, and small businesses across the UK.

This Government inherited a Post Office in crisis but we are determined to tackle the root causes of the issues the Post Office faces, provide the stability it needs and put the organisation on a solid and sustainable footing.

It has been fifteen years since the Government last set out its vision for the Post Office, during which time there has been significant consumer changes and wider pressures on the Post Office, as well as addressing the legacy of the Horizon scandal.

Today, we are publishing a Green Paper that seeks to open a dialogue on the future of the Post Office. It explores difficult questions about how we ensure a modern, trusted and financially resilient Post Office, while protecting essential services.

This Government’s ambition is to strengthen the Post Office network. We want a network that the public uses and values. We want branches to be visible on the high street, operating full working hours and with a strong retail offer, alongside a wide range of in-person services.

In a fast-changing world, the Post Office is in a unique position to bridge the digital divide for the millions of people who rely on face-to-face services. We want to support the Post Office to continue to improve and develop the banking and other critical services it provides.

We must also be honest about the challenges. People use post offices in different ways to how they used them in the past and presenting challenges for the Post Office and postmasters alike. These are not challenges unique to the UK, with many countries needing to adapt and modernise their postal services to reflect changing consumer behaviour.

Through this Green Paper, we are looking to reaffirm what the Post Office does best while recognising the need to make the network more sustainable and less reliant on Government funding. We are also clear that cultural change is essential. We are committed to learning from the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry and ensuring a transparent, accountable, and postmaster-focused culture. Our Green Paper proposals explore short-term ways to improve Post Office’s governance as well as long-term structural reforms—such as mutualisation or a charter model—once financial stability is achieved.

This consultation represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to secure the Post Office’s future and we want to hear from everyone with a stake in it – postmasters, businesses, community organisations and members of the public.

I am also pleased to announce that Government plans to provide up to £118 million of additional investment funding to Post Office this Financial Year. This will support the implementation of Post Office’s Transformation Plan, which aims to put the company on a path to operational and financial stability and enable the delivery of a New Deal for postmasters, which includes improving postmaster remuneration and involving postmasters in central decision-making. This funding will also contribute to the costs of making necessary network investments, to support the continued delivery of services in communities. This funding is subject to the completion of subsidy control processes and compliance with the Subsidy Control Act 2022.

I am laying the Green Paper on the Future of Post Office in Parliament and depositing copies of The Value of the Post Office Network report and supplementary data tables in the Libraries of both Houses.