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Post Office Closures

I congratulate the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam (Mr. Burstow) on securing the debate and the hon. Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Tom Brake) on the points that he raised. This is an important issue, and I cannot pretend that any process involving the closure of post offices will be popular or that it will not give rise to significant concern in local communities, so I appreciate the concerns that both Members have raised on behalf of their constituents. However, I want to take some time to show that, faced with declining customer numbers, increasing losses in the network and lifestyle changes that have affected how people access services and information, the Government and Post office Ltd had to take the difficult decision that they did. The background to this issue is the consultation document that the Government issued last December, which set out our initial view. That was followed by the Secretary of State's announcement in May this year. In brief, he announced that there would be up to 2,500 post office closures and that sub-postmasters leaving the network as part of the programme would be compensated for their service to the community. I am not quite sure whether that is what the hon. Member for Sutton and Cheam meant when he talked about financial arrangements, but it is right and proper that sub-postmasters leaving the network be compensated for their efforts, and that is part of the programme.