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Post Office Closures

I thank the hon. Gentleman for clarifying that he is happier with the present arrangements than with the previous ones. The Secretary of State also announced that there would be 500 new outreach services alongside the closures, and that there would be new access criteria to ensure reasonable access to post office services. The Government's role and Government support have been mentioned. As part of the present programme, the Government, on behalf of the taxpayer, will invest £1.7 billion in the network until 2011, including an annual subsidy of £150 million to keep open branches that would otherwise not be sustained.