§ Sir Philip Hollandasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has any plans to amend the conditions of the sub-postmasters' compensation fund; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. PattieI met the general secretary and other representatives of the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters today to discuss particularly the terms of the Government's special £2 million compensation fund for sub-postmasters. The fund was established, following an announcement in the House on 13 May 1983 by the then Secretary of State for Industry, my right hon. Friend the Member for Wanstead and Woodford (Mr. Jenkin), to help smaller sub-post offices that were adversely affected by changes in the arrangements for the payment of social security benefits. The fund was due to be closed on 30 April this year.
In March last year, the general secretary wrote to me suggesting that the conditions of the fund, particularly the closing date, might be changed. After consulting the Post Office, I have decided that in recognition of the exceptional circumstances caused by industrial action within the DHSS in 1984–85, which considerably distorted sub-postmasters' work levels for about a year, the fund should be extended by one year to 30 April 1988. I have told the federation that the new expiry date must be regarded as final and that we could not entertain the possibility of a further extension.
The opportunity has also been taken to update the guidelines, which explain the background to the fund and qualification criteria, to reflect recent changes in sub-postmasters' conditions of employment. I am making arrangements for copies of the revised guidelines to be placed in the Library and to be available from my Department.