“No decision” on Crown Post Office closures welcome but clarity needed – Carmichael

Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, has today welcomed news that no decisions have been made on the closure of Crown Post Offices, including in Kirkwall, but warned that consultations on the future of such branches must include customers and the wider community. Mr Carmichael spoke during a ministerial statement in Parliament on the Post Office, which stated that “no decisions to close any or all of the remaining directly managed branches have been taken” and announced plans to “significantly increase postmaster remuneration”. 

It was previously reported that up to 115 Post Office branches (the directly-owned Crown Post Offices) could be sold to third parties or closed. The government-owned Post Office has 11,500 branches across the UK, most of which are franchises, with 115 Crown Post Offices of which one is in Kirkwall.

Speaking in the House, Mr Carmichael said:

“If sub-Post Offices are so much cheaper to run than Crown Post Offices then the minister may wish to reflect that that’s probably down to the level of remuneration for sub-postmasters. 

“It’s welcome that – notwithstanding what’s in the press today – no decisions have been made, but it would be very reassuring to the people who rely on post offices, and the staff who work in them, like in Kirkwall which is on the list of those to be considered for closure, to be told when that decision is going to be made. 

“When the minister talks about consulting postmasters, trade unions and other stakeholders, are we safe to assume that other stakeholders here include communities and customers, because they will be looking for the full range of services and adequate physical space in which access these services?”

Responding for the government, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Services, Small Business and Exports, Gareth Thomas MP said:

“The Honourable Gentleman is right to bring the House’s attention back to the issue of sub-postmaster pay, where there has been no material improvement for over a decade. We’re going to see sub-postmasters genuinely treated better in the future. Addressing that is a fundamental issue, and in that regard I very much welcome the Chair of the Post Office Nigel Railton addressing that in his speech today.

“I gently say to him, we remain committed to the requirement of government to deliver 11,500 branches, to ensure that every community has easy access to the Post Office branch network, and any decisions about individual branches, communities will need to be involved in those decisions.”

Reacting after the exchange Mr Carmichael said:

“I am glad that the minister has clarified that no decisions on Post Office closures have been made so far but it is far from ideal the way that this information has come out today and created alarm about local branches. 

“The Post Office is publicly-owned so it must be accountable to us all for the decisions it makes. Past experience with the Horizon scandal means people have a right to be sceptical about their decision-making process – and indeed the previous closure of the Lerwick Crown Post Office shows that these plans are not always fully thought through. If the Post Office are going to rebuild trust amongst sub-postmasters and our communities then they are going to have to do better.”