Back our Post Offices - save the card account
Chelmsford Liberal Democrats are backing calls to save the Post Office card account, which currently helps keep open local post offices around the country. The Government has added uncertainty to the future of the Post Office network by putting the Post Office Card Account (POCA) out to tender. If another organisation such as PayPoint or an international bank wins the tender, the Post Office Network will lose a vital part of their business, with further closures likely.
Nationally, the Government is planning to close at least 2,500 Post Offices, on top of the 4,000 already closed under Labour and 3,500 closed under the previous Conservative Government.
Communities all over the country have been preparing their campaigns in opposition to the cuts, with Liberal Democrats from Chelmsford to Westminster backing them all the way.
The Post Office Card Account is used by 4 million people to claim their Pensions and Benefits, bringing customers into local post office branches and helping to keep them viable as businesses. The National Federation of Sub-Postmasters estimates that an extra 3,000 post offices will be forced to close if Post Office Ltd does not win the contract.
The current contract expires in 2011, and an announcement on the successful tender is expected in July. Local Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate Stephen Robinson said:
"In many areas, the local Post Office is the heart of the community. Under Labour and Conservative Governments we have seen this vital network shrink dramatically - and this latest round of closures is further evidence of this depressing trend.
"There is little point our MP crying crocodile tears over the Post Office network: the Conservatives have no policy to provide the investment that is needed. The Liberal Democrats have a clear policy to provide the £2billion of essential funding."
Lib Dem Chelmsford councillor Tom Smith-Hughes was at the forefront of the campaign to reopen the Post Office in Broomfield Parade. He said, "The Post Office Card contract is vital for the future of the post office. Elderly residents in particular will suffer if the service was moved to a town centre business."
The National Federation of Sub Postmasters say that the decision to allow pensions and benefits to be paid direct to bank accounts in recent years has slashed the £400m the network received from operating the system. And the number of people picking up payments at post offices has fallen from 13 million to about 4 million.
Related Links
- Read more about the ongoing Lib Dem campaign to save Post Offices
- National Federation of Sub Postmasters campaign on the Card Account