Post Office Counters Ltd.

HC Deb 20 July 1994 vol 247 cc311-2

13. Mr. McFall

To ask the President of the Board of Trade what would be the cost of running Post Office Counters Ltd. as a separate business.

Mr. Heseltine

Since 1986, Post Office Counters Ltd. has been run as a separate business, negotiating arm's-length contracts with clients and suppliers. On this basis, the company has been consistently profitable.

Mr. McFall

The Minister will know that the Post Office directly subsidises 10,000 post offices to the tune of £30 million a year and that those post offices are to be found in rural and small urban areas. Given that they are the areas that will suffer any losses, will the cross-subsidy be maintained in future? If not, will not it mean an accelerated death for rural and small urban post offices?

Mr. Heseltine

The House knows by now that we have made clear the value that we place on the maintenance of the network of sub-post offices. If we had not been able to satisfy the sub-post offices of our good intentions, they would not have welcomed our proposals in the way that they have.