ROLE OF POST OFFICES IN THE LOCAL COMMUNITY

That this House believes that post offices play an important role in our communities and for small businesses and that the resilience of the post office network should be actively protected, with particular priority given to rural services; notes the findings of a survey by the National Federation of Sub Postmasters that 76 per cent of members who responded take home less than the minimum wage per hour for working in their post office and that as many as 22 per cent of sub postmasters plan on closing, downsizing or handing on their post office in the next 12 months affecting 2.500 post offices and further undermining financial inclusion in our communities; and calls on the Government to take urgent steps to address the risks facing the post office network, including in the short to medium term enhancing the existing banking framework, increasing the range of everyday banking and government services offered at the post office, exploring innovative ideas such as offering local credit unions at post offices and support for social enterprises and increasing public and small business awareness of the services provided by the network.