Orkney and Shetland MP Alistair Carmichael has today written to the UK Postal Services Minister, Pat McFadden MP urging him to take action on the recommendations made in a report from a House of Commons Committee on the future of the Post Office network.

The Business and Enterprise Committee report entitled ‘Post Offices – securing their future’, published on Tuesday 07 July, makes a number of recommendations for the development of the Post Office network that would benefit the Northern Isles. These measures included forcing banks in which the public is a shareholder to provide access to their services through the Post Office, and increasing the range of financial and administrative services available over the counter in rural areas.Alistair Carmichael MP: Orkney & Shetland

Commenting, Mr Carmichael said;

“My experience is that there is a vast wealth of untapped knowledge and expertise amongst people working for the Post Office and Sub Postmasters. The government should be prepared to listen to these people and learn from them. Everybody agrees that change is needed for the Post Office and Royal Mail. This report highlights some of the opportunities that the vast branch network of the Post Office could have if they were only to be freed from the centralised control of the government and management.”

Amongst the conclusions and recommendations included within the report is the conclusion that Post Offices ‘preserve the fabric of our society’, that the ‘government must think of Post Offices not just as a collection of private businesses but as a public service’ and that the current ‘biggest barrier to the expansion of government services offered through the network is the attitude and lack of imagination of most government departments’.

Notes:

* ‘Post Offices – Securing Their Future’ can be found online on the Committee’s website at;
http://www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/berr.cfm