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Post Office Limited has published a report on Rural Pilot Activity. (Press Release)
The work was commissioned by the Government to report on the findings of their trials of new, innovative and cost-effective ways of delivering post office services to rural communities.
The trials include:
- Home service - where customers can order a range of postal products from their nearest post office and those products are then delivered to their home or to a community meeting point;
- Partner service - where a basic post office service is provided by a third party in an established local business such as a local shop;
- Mobile service - where a service is delivered to a number of communities by mobile outlets; and
- Hosted Service - where an employee of a nearby post office travels to provide a full post office service in a 'host' premises situated in the nearby community (such as a shop, petrol station, village hall or church).
Minister for Competitiveness, Barry Gardiner MP said:
"This report will help users to understand better the range of delivery options being tested by Post Office Ltd. It will make an important contribution to the ongoing discussions about the most effective way to deliver post office services in the 21st century."
"Our commitment to a modern and effective post office is demonstrated by our track record of providing annual support of £150m to 2008 to maintain the rural network ".
Wider consideration and debate of the issues raised in this report is important and for that reason the no avoidable closures policy for rural post offices, which had already been committed to until the end of the current month will now be extended until the Autumn.
The recent state aid clearance by the European Commission on the Government's £300 million package ensures that official support for the rural post office network is now fixed in place for the next two years.
Notes to Editors
1. In her September 2004 statement to Parliament, then Secretary of State, Patricia Hewitt announced that POL would report to Government, the findings of their trials of new, innovative and cost-effective ways of delivering post office services to rural communities.
2. The Post Office Ltd. Rural Pilot Activity report can be found by clicking this link, and you will be taken to a new page in a new window.
3. The European Commission announced on 24th February state aid clearance for the Government's £300 million package of support over the next two years.
4. In November 2000, following the Performance & Information Unit Report, then postal services Minister Alan Johnson, wrote to POL directing them to prevent avoidable closures of post office branches in rural areas.
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Post Office - Forword to report:
Adam Crozier, Chief Executive of Royal Mail Group, said in a foreword to the report:
Adam Crozier, Chief Executive of Royal Mail Group, said in a foreword to the report:
"Everyone - Post Office Ltd, sub postmasters, customers - wants a sustainable and clear way forward for the rural network. It is important for all stakeholders to work together to reduce uncertainty as much as possible in this modern day and age so that sub postmasters can invest with confidence in their businesses and so that customers know what services will be available going forward. The ideas in this report are a contribution to this process."
The report looked at a number of pilot studies where Post Office® services were provided in more than 50 villages through a range of ways other than the traditional village branch office. The innovative ways included:
- partnerships with local rural service providers such as mobile libraries and the police,
- "hub and spoke" arrangements where a sub postmaster running a branch in a larger village provides Post Office® services in smaller communities in premises such as a pub or a village hall,
- mobile services involving a van with online links to the network.
The report considers the outcome of the pilot work.
Mr Crozier said: "In itself, the report doesn't provide the definitive answer to the issue of how to create a viable future rural network. That will involve wider considerations from all interested parties. But the report does indicate some of the building blocks upon which a sustainable future might be built and, therefore, it represents a real and positive step forward."
He added: "Millions of customers are served every week at rural Post Office® branches. But the economic realities cannot be ignored. The majority of rural branches lose money. This is not because of inefficiency or lack of entrepreneurial energy by Post Office Ltd and sub postmasters. Their ongoing effort is exemplary and without it, losses would be much greater. It is simply because the customer base is often too small to be commercially viable and, as we move into the 21st century, there are other channels through which organisations and customers can interact."
Mr Crozier pointed out that the majority of work that rural – and urban – Post Office® branches used to handle was on behalf of Government departments.
"But the decline of official business going through Post Office® branches, including the withdrawal by 2010 of the Post Office® Card Account, means that within the next few years less than 10% of the network's revenue will come from work done for the Government.
"Given this situation, it is crucial there is a full debate on the future of the rural Post Office® network."
Ends
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