“At last the Government has woken up to the problem of post offices. A commitment to continue the annual subsidy is good news and will help to prevent some post office closures. But much more thought must be given to developing a sustainable long-term strategy which will enable the post office network to flourish.

“By attempting to restructure the network in just 18 months and allowing the Post Office to determine which branches are to close, the views of local people risks being ignored. Post offices provide not only postal services but access to cash and benefits, information and advice, and a social focus for the community. If a stand alone post office is no longer financially viable, there should be a thorough consultation with all who use and depend on its services in order to find a workable alternative.

“We’re pleased that the Government is committed to a Post Office Card Account (POCA) alternative. There is strong support for post office based accounts and many pensioners would be devastated if this choice was taken away from them. “

ENDS

Notes to editors:

Age Concern’s Stamped Out? report on the issue of rural post offices was launched in September for a copy of the report please visit: www.ageconcern.org.uk/AgeConcern/stamped_out.asp

FACT FILE

• Age Concern research shows that 99% of older people in rural areas consider their local post office to be a lifeline
• The proportion of over 65s living in rural areas is growing
• There are around 8,037, post offices in rural areas (defined as those with populations of less than 10,000)
• In 2004/05, 144 rural branches closed
• Only 4% of villages have a bank, compared to 60% with a post office (Fifth annual report on the Network of Post Offices 2004-05, Postcomm)
• In rural areas, post offices without a retail business continued to close at a high rate
  56% of branches in communities were re-opened within 6 months of the original closure
• 90% of the rural network makes a loss. But rural post offices with over 2,000 customers per week make a profit
• One third of rural householders find it difficult to get to a post office after their local branch is closed

www.ageconcern.org.uk
14th December 2006