§ Mr. McLoughlinTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the effect on post offices in Derbyshire of the change in payment of benefits from over-the-counter to direct bank transfer. [98893]
§ Mr. TimmsNo such assessment has been made by the Department. The migration of benefit payment to ACT begins this year and the Post Office's strategy is to respond to that challenge with a range of banking and other services. How the migration of benefit payments affects the revenue of post offices will depend on a number of factors, not least how benefit recipients and other post office customers respond to change. The income from the various contracts Post Office Ltd. has with the spending Departments and various financial institutions, and the remuneration of sub-postmasters for banking services, is a commercial matter between the parties.