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Postal Services Bill [HL]

In response to my noble friend Lord Hoyle, who asked some pertinent questions, all the answers are very clearly set out in the Bill and in the policy statement that was issued to accompany it. We will of course be happy to elucidate further in response to later amendments in Committee. The noble Lord, Lord Hunt, began his remarks by suggesting that the Bill represents the most negligent, culpable late delivery of all time, to which I say, "Better late than never". However, I realise that some who oppose modernisation altogether would say, "Better never than late". Let me address the amendments directly and respond to the noble Lord’s remarks. I regard the amendments as being grounded in an admirable sentiment—the wish to ensure a secure future for the post office network, to which I say, "Hear, hear". The closures of the past year were difficult but necessary. I can say to noble Lords this afternoon that the Government have no intention of supporting any further programme of post office closures. The network is now on a more secure footing and better placed to look to the future. Its unrivalled network of branches, its strong brand and the face-to-face contact that it offers are all the Post Office’s real assets. We are working hard with the Post Office to build on those assets and identify new opportunities to help ensure a secure future for it, a process in which the Business and Enterprise Select Committee in another place, chaired by a member of the party of the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, is involved. Given the current economic and financial climate, this is the right time to look for potential new business opportunities that can build on the Post Office’s trusted brand, the geographical reach of its network and the option of face-to-face contact that it offers. Let there be no question of the Government’s commitment to the post office network. We are investing up to £1.7 billion, including £150 million a year specifically to support non-commercial branches. This will help to ensure a network of around 11,500 branches across the country. Despite this continued investment, noble Lords will recognise that, in certain limited and highly unfortunate circumstances, individual post offices close. However, protections already exist to address those very particular circumstances, without the need for the provisions in Amendment 2. The Post Office and Consumer Focus, the statutory consumer body, have agreed a new code of practice to deal with such changes in local provision. The code, which will come into force on 1 April this year, sets out how local communities must be informed about the changes, how they will impact on the service and why they are necessary. The code also requires that local stakeholders, including local authorities, disability groups and Members of Parliament, are consulted on the changes. The code is in addition to Consumer Focus’s existing powers to investigate post office provision and its statutory duties in respect of consumers who are elderly, have disabilities, are on low incomes, or who live in rural areas. I turn to Amendment 1. Noble Lords will no doubt agree with me that the best way to ensure the continued sustainability of the post office network is to use it fully. That is why we are working closely with the Post Office to identify new opportunities both to increase its financial role—I am looking with interest at the post bank proposals to which the noble Lord referred—and its government business. This process has already borne fruit with regard to the handling of government business. Last November, the Government decided to award the substantial new contract for the Post Office Card Account to the Post Office—for which I noted that the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, deftly tried to take credit by saying that we took our decision as a result of his extraordinary pressure. This was followed by the announcement in the Pre-Budget Report that the Post Office would provide the new saving gateway account for those on benefits. Just yesterday, the Post Office announced a landmark contract with the DVLA to provide the face-to-face service for the 10-year renewal of driving licences. This contract puts the Post Office at the forefront of ID verification technology and helps to open the door for future potential work on passports and ID cards. We have made progress on government business as recently as yesterday, and we will continue to do so. As for the Post Office’s financial role, we already regard it as an important provider of banking and other financial services. In our view, with its financial services partners, the Post Office continues to look for products well matched to the needs of its customers, and we will encourage it to do so in future. On closures, government services and the Post Office’s future putative financial role, I think that noble Lords will see that the processes are already in place and are robust. The amendments would impose unnecessary duplication of those processes, without adding to the sum total of human knowledge or our responsiveness to the general public, and might even risk undermining them. I therefore ask the noble Lord to withdraw the amendment.