Rippingale - epetition reply
4 December 2007
We received a petition asking:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to intervene to prevent the proposed closure of Rippingale Village Post Office."
Details of Petition:
"On 1st October 2007, Post Office Ltd. announced the proposed closure of the Post Office branch in Rippingale Village Stores, to be replaced by an 'outreach' service, operating for a maximum of 13 hours per week. We believe that the customer income data used in the decision-making process does not reflect the substantial increase in trade since refurbishment in 2006. - The Post Office service is now widely used by the residents of Rippingale and surrounding villages for domestic and business purposes, including 'mail order' companies. - Rippingale has a large elderly population who rely on the Post Office for essential services - Very limited bus services make it impossible for those without transport to reach another Post Office. - An 'Outreach' service will not serve the needs of our community. The loss of a full-time Post Office counter will severely harm the viability of the shop and may well lead to its closure. It would also lead to an enormous increase in the number of car journeys, contrary to the Government's policies on global warming."
Read the Government's response
Closing post offices is not popular and everyone would rather it did not have to happen, but as a society we are using them less than we did and they are losing a significant amount of money.
The post office network as a whole is now losing around £3.5 million a week, up from £2 million a week two years ago and over that same period the numbers of people using the post office each week is 4 million fewer. The 800 least used branches have fewer than 16 customers a week and in those post offices each transaction costs £17 in subsidy. Some 1600 post offices have fewer than 20 customers a day and in those branches the cost per transaction is about £8. In addition there are 1000 sub post offices that have at least 6 other competing branches within a mile of their business.
The Government fully recognises the important social and economic role of post offices, particularly in rural and deprived urban communities. That is why it is determined to maintain a national post office network allowing people to have reasonable access across the whole country and has put in place a new policy and financial framework to achieve this. The Government has been investing substantial sums in the post office network, totalling £2 billion since 1999. That has, for example, paid for a computer link-up for every post office as well as support for non-commercial branches since 2003. It has decided to extend that support to 2011 with the provision of up to another £1.7billion additional funding (subject to European State Aid clearance).
The Government strategy includes provision for 2,500 compensated closures and 500 new Outreach services. The 'Outreach' services will be operated in partnership with other local services such as in pubs, village halls, churches or in mobile post offices. Pilots throughout the UK are ongoing and centre on a 'Core and Outreach' approach. Some 20 Core offices are providing services to a total of over 60 Outreach locations. The 'Core and Outreach' principle gives more local autonomy to larger, more successful agents and reduces the burden of centrally-driven services on the network.
Post Office Limited is responsible for implementing the network change programme at a local level. It is developing a rolling programme of some 50 local consultations on detailed area plans, based on groups of Parliamentary constituencies.
Post Office Ltd develops its proposals with the participation of sub-postmasters, local authorities and the consumer watchdog, Postwatch, and takes into account the numeric access criteria set out by Government as well as local factors affecting ease of access, such as local geography: rivers, mountains etc when drawing up its implementation plans. POL is also required to consider the availability of public transport and alternative access to key post office services, local demographics and the impact on the local economy. Local consultations provide the opportunity to raise any specific concerns over particular proposals.
The consultation period for the East Midlands closed on 12 November and Post Office Ltd have confirmed that they will carefully consider the comments in the petition as part of the consultation process.
The Government does not have a role in proposals or decisions for individual post offices and final decisions on which post offices will close are taken by Post Office Ltd in light of the responses received to the area consultations.
On the 28th November the Post Office announced a further strengthening of the process of reviewing these plans. Alan Leighton, the Chairman of the Royal Mail, will now personally decide on issues where the Post Office and Postwatch cannot reach agreement.
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