POST OFFICE CARD ACCOUNT (No. 2)

Early day motion 1428, tabled 19 January 2006 by Clive Efford (Labour). Signed by 74 members.

That this House regrets the decision of the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions not to renew the contract with Royal Mail for the Post Office Card Account beyond 2010; believes that this will undermine confidence in the future viability of many sub-post offices and will result in further closures; notes that Post Office Ltd has just completed restructuring the sub-post office network through its Reinvention Programme; further notes that the Reinvention Programme invited sub-post office owners to volunteer to accept compensation for the closure of their business; fears that many sub-post office owners will have made their decision to keep open based on business plans that would have anticipated income from the continuation of the Post Office Card Account; draws attention to the Department's own figures which demonstrate that as many as one in four of pensioners and benefit claimants prefer to use the Post Office Card Account rather than one of the other types of accounts accepted at post offices, of which there are more than 25; and calls on the Secretary of State to recognise that sub-post offices are a vital part of many communities throughout the country and to withdraw this decision.

Signatures by party: Labour 53, Liberal Democrat 8, Conservative 5, DUP 3, Scottish National Party 2, Respect 1, Social Democratic and Labour Party 1, UUP 1.