One of the best pieces of news at the weekend was that Essex County Council is considering taking over the running of some Post Offices due for closure (or already closed).
The deliberate* running down of the Post Office network by the current Government is one of its most inexplicable actions. I suppose it’s because the network, with public service at its heart, is just not “modern”. And so services, gradually, have been taken away despite the fact it’s a fantastic community support network for those most in need. This isn’t just a rural issue – it affects cities as well. Which makes the Government's approach even more strange .
Essex is apparently looking at taking over contracts for a period of time to see if it can re-energise them by linking Council service delivery with Post Office business. There is clearly a long way to go but it would be good for communities if it is achievable. Would Northumberland follow? Well, it “wasn’t invented here” (forgive a cheap point: Essex is a Conservative Council). And there’s not much sign of supporting local services here. But hopefully it would. And if elected I would certainly do what I could to ensure it did.
* I say deliberate: like many others, I experienced this when I tried to open a post office card account for my Mum’s pension. The DWP officials made it as hard as they could, and kept asking me to open a Bank rather than a Post Office account instead. The Minister denied it was a policy to do that when I wrote – but I heard what the DWP was trying to do.
The deliberate* running down of the Post Office network by the current Government is one of its most inexplicable actions. I suppose it’s because the network, with public service at its heart, is just not “modern”. And so services, gradually, have been taken away despite the fact it’s a fantastic community support network for those most in need. This isn’t just a rural issue – it affects cities as well. Which makes the Government's approach even more strange .
Essex is apparently looking at taking over contracts for a period of time to see if it can re-energise them by linking Council service delivery with Post Office business. There is clearly a long way to go but it would be good for communities if it is achievable. Would Northumberland follow? Well, it “wasn’t invented here” (forgive a cheap point: Essex is a Conservative Council). And there’s not much sign of supporting local services here. But hopefully it would. And if elected I would certainly do what I could to ensure it did.
* I say deliberate: like many others, I experienced this when I tried to open a post office card account for my Mum’s pension. The DWP officials made it as hard as they could, and kept asking me to open a Bank rather than a Post Office account instead. The Minister denied it was a policy to do that when I wrote – but I heard what the DWP was trying to do.
1 comment:
Dare they take away our PO. Belford is a happy run little sub office with friendly staff who do everything they can to help. However, I remember having to sort out my late father-in-law's pension and benefits and it was impossible to have the money paid into the post office. He went into a home before he died and they would only take the weekly fees from a bank account! If they ever closed Belford Post Office, it would be an absolutely dreadful error. They closed Barclays Bank in Belford (different story I know) but it made life very difficult for the elderly members of the village and community.
C xx
Post a Comment