Helen Morgan presses post office minister over rural services
Helen Morgan urged the Government to commit to improving access to rural post offices as she highlighted the impact that closures are having on communities in Shropshire.
The North Shropshire MP has been campaigning to improve access to cash and postal services after Oswestry Post Office was threatened with closure and outreach services were removed across the county.
While Oswestry’s Post Office has been saved, several villages where postmasters were available once a week are now without out any post office services. This has a particular impact on elderly people and those without access to a car who find it difficult to reach their nearest available service.
Among the affected places are extremely large villages like Shawbury, which does have a shop but has no post office and no cash machine after a robbery.
Residents impacted by the closures
Helen has spoken to dozens of residents who have been impacted by the closures, along with many more concerned relatives and carers of vulnerable people who now have no local services.
The MP is petitioning for improved access to rural post office services and calling for a sustainable model of banking and post office services in places like Shropshire. A new banking hub recently opened in Whitchurch and another is now planned in Market Drayton, but Helen would also like to see hubs introduced in other market towns like Ellesmere and Wem.
What was said in the House of Commons
Helen pressed Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas on rural services in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
Helen Morgan, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, said:
“In my constituency, the size and shape of the Post Office is rapidly shrinking because of the fundamental fragility of the way it is set up.
“The retirement of a single sub-postmistress, because of rents going up on her shop, has led to the closure of outreach services across the constituency.
“The access criteria consider someone to be within three miles of a post office if that post office is an outreach service and open for a single hour a week.
“That is not acceptable for rural communities, many of which do not have a bus for many hours during the day.
“Will the Minister commit to looking at a sustainable model for rural post offices, so that people can genuinely access cash and the other services they need, particularly if they do not have a car?”
Post Office Minister response
Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas replied to Helen:
“I completely accept the significance of the Post Office in rural communities in particular, but it is equally essential that we have access to Post Office services in urban areas. The hon. Lady references the fragility of the Post Office, and that has certainly been the case in certain communities when finding postmasters who are willing to step forward and take on the role of running a Post Office franchise.
“That is why the initial steps that the Post Office management have taken to increase postmaster remuneration are important, by helping to make the role more attractive. It is also important that the Post Office has established a consultative council, to look properly at the way that postmasters are consulted and involved in big decisions about the future of the Post Office.
“If the hon. Lady thinks it would be useful, I would be happy to speak to her separately about the specific issues that her constituents face, and to understand a little more about the specific problems she has raised.”
