PROPOSED CLOSURE OF CASTLE POINT POST OFFICE BRANCHES

That this House is concerned by the proposed closure of Castle Point post office branches 173 Church Road, Thundersley and Dovervelt Road, Canvey Island; recognises the vital importance of these individual post office branches in serving the local communities; urges the Government and Post Office Ltd to listen properly to the views of all local people during the consultation process and reverse the policy of closing these sub-post offices; regrets that the Government has brought about the decline of the post office network, rather than freeing sub-post offices to offer new services and to work with carriers other than the Royal Mail; calls upon the Government to accept the essential and continuing need for the 173 Church Road, Thundersley and Dovervelt Road, Canvey post office branches and other sub-post offices throughout Castle Point and Essex; and further calls on the Government to withdraw from undemocratic and improper regulation imposed on the UK by Europe which is a major reason for the closure programme, to reverse its withdrawal of public business from post offices, to retain the Post Office Card Account and adopt a more constructive policy towards bringing new business to the network, thereby saving post office branches from closure.