Supporting post offices

SubPostmaster Om Lall with his
family outside the post office in
Worthing, West Sussex

Local authorities can support post offices by offering council services through them, writes George Thomson

The post office network is a national asset. Serving 24 million customers a week, post offices provide local retail, vital services for local businesses, a focal point for communities and support for vulnerable citizens.

In effect, post offices act as the heart of sustainable communities across the country.

Local authorities know this, which is why many councils were understandably angered at the closure of post offices in their area.

There are now 12,000 Post Office outlets in the UK, and it is essential that this total does not reduce further.

However, this can only be achieved by more work being put through post offices. The National Federation of SubPostmasters (NFSP) believes the network is a valuable national resource which offers a massively underused capacity for the provision of government banking, mail, and other services in a trusted, accessible, face-to-face environment.

We have therefore developed a six-step plan to highlight actions required to get the network back on track. Launched at the House of Commons, ‘Six Steps to a Sustainable Post Office Network’ calls on all levels of government to urgently identify ways of putting more work through the network of post offices.

We are calling for the creation of a new government-backed British Postbank at the Post Office, to bring banking back to its local roots for citizens and for small businesses.

The NFSP believes that local, central and devolved government must think ‘post office first’ when developing new and renewing existing contracts. Local authorities have a vital role to play in contributing to post offices’ sustainability – not by seeking to run post offices themselves, but by ensuring all potential council payments, information and services are accessible through every local post office; and by support through grants, training and rates relief to post offices and their retail businesses.

Many council payments and services can be – and in some places already are – provided through local post offices. These include council tax, rents and mortgages, social service bills such as meals on wheels, leisure centre passes, school meals, lessons or extra-school activities,
parking fines and permits, disabled badges, local travel passes, and court fines.

Equally, information on tourism, planning applications or public consultations can reach target audiences through local post offices.

This allows residents to pay for, and access council information in a trusted local environment, frees up administration for local authorities, and provides vital income and custom for post offices.

‘Six Steps to a Sustainable Post Office Network’ will be sent to all council leaders and chief executives in the coming weeks and can be downloaded at www.nfsp.org.uk

To receive a copy of the report, discuss its recommendations or get in touch with a local NFSP representative contact admin@nfsp.org.uk or call 01273 452324.

George Thomson is general secretary of the National Federation of SubPostmasters