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Written question asked by Wendy Morton (Conservative) on Thursday, 19 March 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 23 March 2026. It was answered by Blair McDougall (Labour) on Thursday, 26 March 2026 on behalf of the Department for Business and Trade.

Post Offices: Finance

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the statement of 25 February 2026 on the Government Response to the Green Paper on the Future of the Post Office, what proportion of the planned £180 million network subsidy funding over the next three financial years represents new funding rather than the continuation or repurposing of existing subsidy arrangements; how that funding will be allocated across the network; and what conditions will be attached to the use of that subsidy by the Post Office.

Answer

The Department plans to provide up to £180 million of funding through a new network subsidy to Post Office over the next three financial years. The entirety of this funding is new, with the specific allocation of funding across the network being an operational matter for the Post Office.

This funding will support with the operational costs of delivering government policy, which requires Post Office to deliver essential services across specific access criteria. This includes the requirement to ensure that 99% of the UK population is within 3 miles of their nearest post office outlet.

The Framework Document between the Department and POL sets out that network subsidy is ringfenced for the purposes of delivering government policy via the branch network.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
122118
Session
2024-26
Related items
Subjects
Finance Post offices
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk