Latest Press Releases
| ROBERTSON WARNS LIBDEM POST PLAN COULD LEAD TO CLOSURES |
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| Tuesday, 20 September 2011 00:00 |
 At Westminster the SNP has been a leading voice against changes to the ownership of the Post Office, which they believe will result in closures, a poorer service at increased cost for customers and significant damage to the rural economy. The SNP’s Angus Robertson said: “ The people of Moray have repeatedly expressed their support for their local post offices but Westminster Government’s past and present continue to erode the foundations of the services provided in this important institution. “ This is not about sentimentality but about a core service that is essential in protecting and developing our rural communities and the rural economy. “ The loss of a post office can be incredibly damaging in any area but especially so in rural settlements. “ The real issue facing the Post Office is not its structure but whether it survives the UK Government’s disastrous plans to privatise the Royal Mail. There are real dangers that this will lead to the closure of many more local post offices. “ The consultation about mutualisation will not disguise the fact that sub post offices are still closing, and many others are barely holding on in a very difficult economic situation. “ Instead of obsessing about the management structure of the Royal Mail the UK government should be taking its lead from the Scottish Government, who have introduced the business bonus scheme for small businesses and a post office diversification scheme. “ Ed Davey talks about the Post Office being a ‘front office for government business’, yet when the UK government had a chance to help the post office they granted the contract for benefit payments to an alternative provider. “ The Post Office must be recognised as being much more than just a receipts and payments service, it is a critical hub in many, many local communities. It performs a vital social function which other service providers simply cannot emulate." |
