HC Deb 27 March 2003 vol 402 cc155-6WH
8. Sue Doughty (Guildford)

What arrangements have the Government made to promote the take-up of Post Office card accounts among people of pensionable age.[104454]

The Minister for Pensions(Mr. Ian McCartney)

The move to direct payment provides a more secure and efficient method of payment that will make life easier for people. It will also help to prevent crime and fraud. More and more people are already choosing to be paid in this way, and of every 10 new pensioners six do so without prompting. People have more choice: they can use a range of bank or building society accounts at their post office as well as the new Post Office card account. They will not have to carry large amounts of cash, and they will have more choice and flexibility about how much they withdraw and where they withdraw it. They will be able to choose the account that best suits their needs. We will write directly to all pensioners affected by the change, sending them the information that they need to decide which account option is best for them.

Huge numbers are involved, which means phasing in any changes over two years. People do not need to do anything until we have contacted them. In the meantime, we have set up a dedicated helpline so that people can phone if they have questions about the change. The number is 0800 107 2000—just in case someone was going to ask. We are also running an information campaign to support mailings to customers; it will explain the change and the choices that people have. It will include press, radio and television advertising. Press advertising started on 24 March.

Sue Doughty

I thank the Minister for his answer, but I am concerned that people are getting the information late and that it takes time for older people to fill in forms to get the changes made. How does he expect to deal with claimants who do not want a bank account or who cannot run a bank account? They will have real difficulty filling in forms to withdraw cash using the Post Office card account, but they still want to go to their local post office and withdraw cash—that is the service that they expect to receive.

Mr. McCartney

I thank the hon. Lady for her question and for the manner in which she put it. All of us are acutely aware of the need to be sensitive when introducing change, particularly if that change affects older people. We must ensure that changes are made in co-operation with older people's organisations. The change must also be beneficial to the older people that it affects.

Some 90 per cent. of all pensioners currently have access to a bank or building society account. If we did nothing over 10 years, post offices up and down the country, including those in the hon. Lady's constituency, would have very few pensioners as customers, let alone others. People are choosing to take their income from sources other than post offices because other sources give a better choice. That is why we are investing more than £1 billion in a programme that will provide a platform for additional services to older people and other customers, which will transform the Post Office over the next few years. If we did not make those changes, we would ensure that a major national network slowly bled to death.

I shall send the hon. Lady and other hon. Members a detailed note to keep them in contact with the changes as they are phased in. I want to ensure that all hon. Members have access to the Department for Work and Pensions and to the Post Office. There must be an open process, and we shall deal directly with any problems that hon. Members raise during the transformation period, whether they are connected with the service in general or with specific aspects of the Post Office. If we are serious about maintaining the Post Office network, it is in all our interests to install the system sensitively.

Older people have voted with their feet in the pilots: they have appreciated the opportunity to continue banking with the Post Office for cash and used their building society accounts—with Nationwide, or, indeed, the new Post Office account. I am certain that we shall deal with the matter as sensitively as we can over the next few years to ensure that the needs of older people are met effectively.