First class move

BELATEDLY, the Government has, potentially, offered local post offices a new lease of life by expanding the number of financial services that they can offer their customers.

It is a very welcome announcement. Yet one question remains unanswered: why has it taken to the eve of an election, and the closure of

thousands of branches across the country, for Ministers to realise the potential of post offices as mini-banks? The need for people on low incomes to have access to bank accounts, so they can take advantage of discounts and pay various utility bills by direct debit, is not a new phenomenon. The problem existed when New Labour first came to power.

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Yet, rather than creating the trading conditions for the branch network to prosper, the Government deliberately stripped the post offices of vital services – such as the issuing of television licences.

Only now are Ministers prepared to acknowledge, albeit tacitly, that they could, and should, have done more to protect this service. For, contrary to the views held by some politicians, post offices are not just places to buy stamps, post letters and collect pensions.

They are the lifeblood of many communities, particularly those rural villages that have been left bereft of other vital services. And, despite the negativity of recent years, they do have a secure future – provided that they have the business scope to complement their postal duties. The great shame is that it is has taken so long for Ministers to recognise this.

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