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Post Office Restructuring

I hope that the hon. Gentleman does not mind if I am not drawn into that kind of calculation, because we could go round the room. I stress that this part of the process is for post offices in respect of which Postwatch and Post Office Ltd fail to agree that the process has been properly followed throughout. I want to talk a little bit about outreach, because hon. Members mentioned it. I have visited the outreach pilot services in the constituency of my hon. Friend the Member for Dumfries and Galloway, who made an important point. I accept that, sometimes, this process will be controversial at the beginning, but there have been a lot of calls in this debate for imaginative thinking. Outreach gives an opportunity for imaginative thinking, whether in respect of shared services with other organisations in a local community, of the kind that have been called for, or a mobile post office. Perhaps services will be more part-time than those currently in place, but all the same it gives an opportunity for a post office service at a time when it is more predictable that it will be busy—some days are busier than others in local communities—and offers the opportunity for a service to continue in some way. I appreciate the concerns about this matter, but alongside the 2,500 closures overall that have been announced, there is a plan for 500 such services throughout the country. I should like to correct the impression that outreach services are only available in the 38 districts that currently fall below the national criteria for coverage by the Post Office. That is not so. In fact, under the local plans announced so far, some 99 proposals for outreach services have already been mentioned.