Letter from Maria Miller MP
Further to your letter of 6 December I am writing
to outline the issues encountered during the recent Post Office
consultation on the closure of two post offices in my constituency.
Basingstoke has seen a quarter of its Post Office branches closed
in the past five years therefore the closure of a further two
offices represents a further cut of more than 10%.
The issues that I would like to bring to your
attention are:
1. Public Transport: access to an alternative
post office outlet by public transport was set out by the Post
Office as one of their key criteria when assessing whether closures
should go ahead. In my submission to the consultation I highlighted
that the Old Basing PO, serving an area up to five miles outside
of the town centre, which is earmarked for closure, was also subject
to cuts in bus services as a result of Hampshire County Council
withdrawing vital subsidies. In an apparent attempt to side step
the issue the Post Office decided to contact Stage Coach who said
they had no intention to cut any routes, which could be entirely
correct as the cuts result from the County Council withdrawing
the bus subsidy. I have challenged this matter and, after some
resistance, gained the Post Office's agreement to review the situation.
The withdrawal of the County Council bus subsidy would mean significant
cuts to the public transport link between the axed post office
and the nearest alternative.
2. It should be noted that just one post
office has had the decision to close changed as a result of this
consultation (out of a total of 62 under consideration).
3. The two post offices to be closed are
two of the top performing outlets in the county and I understand
the top performing outlets in my constituency. It is an extraordinary
business strategy to close those outlets which are better run
and better managed only to hand this business to those operators
who are less successful.
If you would like any further details please
let me know.
10 January 2008
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