Post office closures must be reconsidered after Government admit flaws (Islington Liberal Democrats)

Islington Liberal Democrats <Islington_ld@cix.co.uk>

Post office closures must be reconsidered after Government admit flaws

February 17, 2004 12:00 AM

Lib Dem Laura Willoughby is calling on the Post Office to reconsider its recent decision to close two post offices in the north of Islington after the Labour Government finally admitted this week that urban post office closures have been a fiasco. Islington Lib Dems, who have been campaigning against the Government-backed cull of local post offices, have already complained to Post Office bosses that the whole local consultation process was a sham. Lib Dem Islington council has even launched its own review into the impact these closures would have for local residents. Now the Government's Trade Minister Stephen Timms MP has admitted that, in many cases, the consultation process for closures has not been dealt with appropriately or with sufficient sensitivity. Commenting on the Government's U-turn, Laura Willoughby, Lib Dem Executive Member for Communities, said: "The Labour Government have finally admitted what the Lib Dems have been saying for a long time - the whole post office closure programme is a total fiasco driven only by cost cutting. "So-called 'consultation' has just been a smokescreen to hide the real reason behind these closures and the Government must have known this all along. Their intervention now is too little too late. "Hefty compensation packages of up to £67,000 have been used to lure postmasters to retire or close down. And who can blame them when all the Government does is take business away from them? The Lib Dem council has tried to do its bit for post offices by encouraging our tenants to pay their rent there." "The Government has announced a number of improvements which I hope will make the process fairer in future consultations. But what about the post offices in Islington that have already closed? The recent closures in Archway, Holloway and Hornsey Road must now be reviewed." Lib Dem Bridget Fox added: "We've met with post office chiefs and they've admitted that even more post offices in the south of the borough will be forced to close. No one knows where the axe will fall next. Many pensioners tell me that they rely on their local nearby post office to get their pension or just to meet other people. Post offices are the heart of our local communities and I'll be fighting alongside residents to save them."

Facts

Islington has already lost 6 post offices and the Post Office are now looking at closing even more in the south of the borough.

Subpostmasters are being offered on average £65k in compensation if they close their business. This is often in excess of the commercial value of the business. The national watchdog PostWatch claim the result is that offices that could and should remain open do not do so because of the generous and inflexible compensation package.

Islington Lib Dems recently revealed new figures which show that so far 500 Post Offices have been axed across Britain while only 12, or 2%, have been saved through consultation. None of the post offices up for closure in Islington have been saved so far.