Sub Post-Offices — Applauds the Government record — 10 Jan 2007 at 18:45

The majority of MPs voted for the motion:^[1]

• This House
• acknowledges the important role that post offices play in local communities, particularly in rural and deprived urban areas;
• recognises that the business environment in which Royal Mail and the post office network are operating is undergoing radical change, with more and more people choosing new electronic ways to communicate, pay bills and access Government services;
• applauds the Government's record of working closely with Royal Mail, Post Office Ltd. and sub-postmasters to help them meet these challenges with an unprecedented investment of more than £2 billion made by the Government in supporting the network since 1999;
• endorses the Government's firm commitment to ensuring the continuation of the network, while acknowledging the widely held view that its present size is unsustainable;
• supports the Government's approach of allowing Royal Mail the freedom to respond to future commercial challenges and opportunities, and in particular enabling Post Office Limited to determine the future shape of the network within clear Government rules governing criteria for local access, a requirement to develop new "outreach" services, full public consultation on proposals for each affected area and a continuing commitment to social network payments by the Government to reflect sub-post offices' social role; and
• welcomes the Government's renewed commitment to allowing the public to get their pensions and benefits in cash from post offices if they choose to do so, including a successor to the Post Office card account when the current contract expires in 2010.

This replaced a motion critical of Government policy which was voted out immediately before.^[2]

• [1] Alistair Darling MP, House of Commons, 10 January 2007
• [2] Sub Post-Offices - Condemnation of closure plan - rejected, House of Commons, 10 January 2007

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