---

Post Office Closures

With great respect to the hon. Gentleman, I am going to make progress. If the Post Office operated on a purely commercial basis, with no external subsidy, it is estimated that up to four times as many branches would have to stop trading. However, we do not believe that the Post Office should be operated purely as a commercial service. That is why we have committed such a large public subsidy and why we are working with Post Office Ltd to secure a more stable network for the future. George Thomson, general secretary of the National Federation of SubPostmasters, also recognised that. He said recently that,"““although regrettable””—" and it is regrettable—"““we believe that these closures are necessary to ensure the remaining post offices are able to thrive in the future.””" We believe that changes are necessary, but we also aim to give people new reasons to use the Post Office and provide a range of services that make it a local provider of choice.