Ministers must act to protect lifeline post offices from closure: Union
Government support is needed to prevent the closure of more post offices, according to a leading union.
The demand by the Communication Workers Union follows the decision by Spar to close 31 of the 48 Post Office counters in its Scottish stores.
Over the past year, Scotland has had a bigger drop in the number of post offices than the rest of the UK.
CWU Scottish secretary Craig Anderson said some post offices were the “lifeblood” of communities and government assistance could be needed to keep more from closing.
He said: “Unfortunately, the revenue of a lot of sub-postmasters is dwindling as more and more services become electronic. But there has to be some sort of recognition that the post office service is the lifeblood of a lot of smaller communities.
“There has to be a consultation about what can be done. That could be looking at integrating post offices into community centres or hubs for instance. The remit of the post office could be widened as well, for example being a collection point for pharmacies.
“The business model needs to be looked at, with possibly some sort of financial incentive or subsidy from the government. There needs to be a discussion between the Post Office, trade unions, councils and government about how we do that.”
Spar announced the closures earlier this month, adding that they were “representative of the industry-wide pressures on retail outlets as we evolve to keep up with changing consumer habits”.
But politicians described the decision as a massive blow to communities and accused the company of abandoning some of the most vulnerable citizens at a time of need during the pandemic.
Post Office bosses said they had attempted to keep branches open and were “disappointed” by the decision. According to House of Commons research published earlier this year, Scotland had 1,373 post offices in 2020, down 15 on the previous year.
England lost 14 post offices, Wales five and the number in Northern Ireland went up by six.
Between 2010 and 2020, the number of post offices in Scotland fell by 5%, second only to Yorkshire and the Humber.
The Scottish Government said it was monitoring the situation closely: “We do not underestimate the importance of local services, such as those offered by the Post Office, and our Place Based Investment Programme – backed with a fiveyear commitment of £325 million – will include support for town centres, 20-minute neighbourhoods and community regeneration.”
The UK Government said: “We recognise how important a Post Office is to a community, and Post Office Ltd will be engaging with the local communities affected to help ensure that any disruption to post office services are minimised.”