MPs have accused ministers of lacking concern over the impact of rural post office closures.

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee published a report into the government’s post office closure programme on Thursday (12 November).

The report can be downloaded here (1.25MB pdf)

Some 2,500 post office branches are being closed – many in rural areas – in an effort to put the network on a sustainable footing.

A series of undertakings by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills to protect post office users during the closures were largely met, said the committee.

But there was criticism of the local consultation phase of the programme from some of those taking part.

Complaints included too little time for consultation, that decisions had already been made and that the public were not being listened to.

“The department’s assessment of the social and economic costs of the closure programme was inadequate,” says the report.

The department failed to undertake specific economic and social research to support its decisions. Instead it drew on older work, largely from 2003.

This analysis simply assessed the economic benefits provided by the network as a whole and did not consider the impact of closures.

“The department must now rectify the weaknesses in its evaluations by considering the impacts of closure on rural communities,” says the report.

“It must evaluate the benefits from its £150 million annual subsidy, and the benefits lost through closures.”

This work should compare the economic and social characteristics of communities with and without post offices.

It should also examine the impact made by outreach post office services, such as mobile vans, which have replaced permanent branches.

The National Federation of SubPostmasters (NFSP) said it was “bitterly disappointed” with ministers’ failure to champion the network.

General Secretary George Thomson said better use should be made of the post office as the natural home for many government services.

“Government departments and agencies and local authorities must think ‘post office first’ when awarding or renewing contracts for services.”

Recent research showed that post offices generated over £10 billion in “social benefit” to the country as a whole.

But Mr Thomson said urgent government action was needed to provide more services across post office counters.

“Subpostmasters are struggling to keep their businesses open, and communities and businesses across the country will bear the brunt of future post office closures.”

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