Written question asked by Mark Todd (Labour) on Wednesday, 28 March 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 2 April 2001. It was answered by Alan Johnson (Labour) on Monday, 2 April 2001 on behalf of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Dept of Trade and Industry

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, what steps he is taking to ensure that sub-postmasters have the right to have Paypoint terminals on their premises.

Answer: Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to ensure that sub- postmasters have the right to have Paypoint terminals on their premises. [156516] Mr. Alan Johnson: This is an operational matter for the Post Office Network. However, I understand from the Post Office that Paypoint, as a bill payment network provider, competes directly with the bill payment facilities offered by post offices. In order to protect the sustainability of the network, particularly in rural areas, it is Post Office Network commercial policy not to permit sub-postmasters to offer, through their private business, products or services that compete with the core business activities of their post office, such as the bill payment service.

Secondary information