POST OFFICE NETWORK (No. 2)

Early day motion 1201, tabled 22 March 2007 by Alan Duncan (Conservative). Signed by 44 members.

That this House is concerned by the fact that a quarter of the Post Office network has closed since 1997, with at least 2,500 further closures planned by the Government over the next two years; is further concerned that it has been suggested that the Post Office network could be reduced to just 4,000 branches; recognises the important social role played by post offices; believes that the Government's proposed access criteria are essentially meaningless as two thirds of all post offices could be closed without breaching them; believes that access criteria should be improved and strengthened to take into account factors such as public transport facilities; and calls on the Government to give greater certainty to the sub-postmasters by setting out where it intends to make cuts and setting a limit on the number of closures over the next two years, to allow sub-postmasters to provide a greater range of products and services and to encourage local councils to see what services they could provide through post offices creating council counters in their area better to engage with local residents.

Signatures by party: Conservative 31, Liberal Democrat 6, Labour 3, DUP 2, Plaid Cymru 1, Scottish National Party 1.