New closure threat to Post Offices

9.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 12th Sep 2008

On top of the 3,500 Post Offices closed by the Conservatives, Labour has already closed another 6,500 up and down the country. A new threat has now emerged. The Government is already considering who should run the Post Office Card Account (POCA) in the future. The Post Office has made a bid to keep running this service from 2010 but the Government could award the contract to another company. The National Federation of Sub-postmasters and mistresses has warned that if the contract is not awarded to the Post Office there will be a further decline in the Post Office network. Without the income generated by running the POCA, the Federation estimates that a further 3,000 post offices could close.

Local Liberal Democrat and Grove Green Focus Team member, Paul Olford says: "People living in Grove Green ward have already lost 3 post offices that were within walking distance for most of them. A further deterioration of the service could leave many in even more difficulty. We will continue to campaign for the services to be run by the Post Office for the community."