Written question asked by Patsy Calton (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 30 March 2004, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 19 April 2004. It was answered by Stephen Timms (Labour) on Monday, 19 April 2004 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 assessment she has made of Post Office Network's ability to maintain convenient access for all to post offices, as indicated on page 5, chapter 1 of the Performance and Innovation Unit Report of 2000. - Inc figures.

Answer: Mrs. Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of Post Office Network's ability to maintain convenient access for all to post offices, as indicated on page 5, chapter 1 of the Performance and Innovation Unit Report of 2000. [165340] Mr. Timms: The Government regards it as most important that all communities have good access to postal and Government services and it is committed to doing all it can to ensure a viable Post Office network for the future. We have appointed a dynamic management team who are committed to turning the business around and to give effect to the vision in the PIU report of a thriving network meeting changing customer needs. The Government has placed a formal obligation on Post Office Ltd to maintain the rural network and prevent avoidable closures, in the first instance until 2006, and has made available £450 million over three years to support this. For the urban network, where rationalisation is a vital element of renewal, Post Office Ltd is required to ensure that at the end of their reinvention programme over 95 per cent. of the urban population nationally will still live within one mile of a post office and the majority will live within half a mile.

Secondary information