Kramer on Post Offices

11.43.00am GMT Fri 21st Mar 2008

[Mar 20] Susan Kramer (Richmond Park, Liberal Democrat): When the Post Office and the Government announced the most recent round of closures, . .

. . there was also a commitment to reopen a limited number of post offices, especially in areas of social exclusion that were undeserved because of prior closures. I now understand from conversations with the Post Office that that will not apply in any urban areas, including areas such as Ham ward in my constituency, which is most deprived and does not have a single post office. Will the Minister please take up that issue with his colleagues?

Phil Hope (Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office): I am sure that the hon. Lady can champion her own constituency perfectly well. The criterion being used nationally for urban areas is that 99 per cent. of the population should be within one mile of a post office in the top 15 per cent. most deprived urban areas. That is an important commitment. At the beginning, that commitment applied to only the bottom 10 per cent. of deprived urban areas, but we have increased it to 15 per cent. My difficulty in responding to the hon. Lady stems from the fact that the Liberal Democrats appear to be saying that they will fund every post office no matter what the cost. Frankly, that is fairyland economics.