PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
POST OFFICE SERVICE (30 January 2006)

That this House is deeply concerned about the future of the public post office service; notes the consideration by Royal Mail of shutting down or selling off more than 160 high street post offices including the Crown post offices in Scotland at Bathgate, Coatbridge, Dunfermline, Perth, Glasgow Hope Street and Dumfries; further notes that the Government has announced plans to terminate the £1 billion contract which supports the Post Office Card Account and which is used by four million pensioners every week; draws attention to the reaction of the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters who attacked this decision as an outrageous betrayal that would hit the elderly hard; further draws attention to the concerns that that these closures and changes would cause elderly and disabled people difficulty in reaching branches further away, force customers to rely on and pay for public transport to access branches and face longer queues and poorer facilities due to increased pressure on branches and a fall in standard of local delivery services; and calls on the Government to reverse these plans or to bring forward an alternative to alleviate concerns about the loss of so many post offices at the heart of so many communities.

Sponsored by:
Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party)