§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade which post offices in Ayrshire are still under the direct authority of the Post Office.
§ Mr. McLoughlinI understand from the Post Office that there are five—Ayr, Irvine, Kilmarnock, Kilwinning and Saltcoats.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many post offices throughout the United Kingdom have been franchised in each year since introduction of the policy.
§ Mr. McLoughlinI understand from the Post Office that the numbers are as follows:
167W
Number 1989–90 153 1990–91 164 1991–92 147
Number 1992–93 108 11993–94 56 1 To January.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has received from the Post Office of the financial benefits of franchising as opposed to maintaining post offices under its direct control.
§ Mr. McLoughlinI understand from the Post Office that the financial benefits are as follows:
Net recurring benefit of each year's conversions £ millions 1989–90 4.4 1990–91 3.9 1991–92 4.1 1992–93 3.4 Over the same period, one-off income from fees has exceeded one-off costs associated with conversions by £13.1 million.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what plans he has received from the Post Office to franchise the operating of Kilwinning and Irvine main post offices.
§ Mr. McLoughlinNone.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what procedures are used by the Post Office to monitor the performance of agency post offices.
§ Mr. McLoughlinI understand from the Post Office that Post Office Counters Ltd. monitors the performance of agency post offices across the generic areas of financial accounting, customer service and accuracy of transactions. It does so directly through regular financial and procedural audits and the support of retail network managers, and indirectly through customer research and "mystery shopper" surveys.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many post and sub-post offices have been given agency status in Ayrshire; and if he will list them.
§ Mr. McLoughlinI understand from the Post Office that the following 13 post offices in Ayrshire have been converted from directly managed to agency status:
- Ardrossan
- Beith
- Brodick
- Burns Statue Ayr
- Cumnock
- Dalry
- Girvan
- Largs
- Maypole
- Prestwick
- Stevenson
- Troon
- West Kilbride
In addition, there are 101 sub-post offices in Ayrshire.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement indicating how many people are employed at(a) Kilwinning and (b) Irvine main post offices.
168W
§ Mr. McLoughlinI understand from the Post Office that Kilwinning Crown post office employs eight staff, of whom four are full time and four are part time, and that Irvine Crown post office employs 12 staff, of whom eight are full time and four are part time.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade (1) how many jobs have been lost throughout the United Kingdom as a result of the introduction of agency status for post offices;
(2) how many jobs have been lost in Scotland as a result of the introduction of agency status for post offices.
§ Mr. McLoughlinNone that I am aware of. Since the full range of services is maintained and the agency offices are frequently open for longer hours, they need to employ similar or even greater numbers of staff.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many post offices in Scotland have been given agency status during each year since the introduction of the franchising policy; and if he will list them.
§ Mr. McLoughlinI understand from the Post Office that the numbers are as follows:
Number 1989–90 32 1990–91 29 1991–92 40 1992–93 11 11993–94 5 1 to January The post offices in Scotland converted to agency status between April 1989 and January 1994 are:
169W
- Alexandria
- Anstruther
- Arbroath
- Banchory
- Banff
- Barrhead
- Bearsden
- Beith
- Bishopbriggs
- Bo'ness
- Blairgowrie
- Brechin
- Brodick
- Broughty Ferry
- Broxburn
- Bruntsfield Edinburgh
- Buckhaven
- Buckie
- Burns Statue Ayr
- Burntisland
- Campbeltown
- Carnoustie
- Cathcart Glasgow
- Coldstream
- Cowdenbeath
- Crieff
- Cumnock
- Cupar
- Dalbeattie
- Dalmuir Glasgow
- Dairy
- Dingwall
- Dunbar
- Dunblane
- Dunoon
- Duns
- Elton
- Forfar
170W
- Forres
- Forrest Road Edinburgh
- Fraserburgh
- George Street Aberdeen
- Girvan
- Glasgow Airport
- Glasgow Road Ardrossan
- Gourock
- Grangemouth
- Grantown on Spey
- Hawick
- Helensburgh
- Hillhead
- Huntly
- Invergordon
- Inverurie
- Jamaica Street Glasgow
- Jedburgh
- Johnstone
- Kelso
- Kelvinbridge Glasgow
- Kilmacolm
- Kilsyth
- Kinross
- Kirkcudbright
- Kirriemuir
- Kyle of Lochalsh
- Lairg
- Larkhall
- Lanark
- Largs
- Leith
- Leith Walk Edinburgh
- Leven
- Lochee Dundee
- Lochgelly
- Lochgilphead
- Lockerbie
- Lossiemouth
- Maryhill Glasgow
- Maybole
- Melrose
- Moffat
- Montrose
- Musselburgh
- Nairn
- Newton Stewart
- Newlands Glasgow
- North Berwick
- North Park Edinburgh Oban
- Parkhead Glasgow
- Peebles
- Penicuik
- Pitlochry
- Pollock Glasgow
- Port Ellen
- Port Glasgow
- Portobello Edinburgh
- Portree
- Prestonpans
- Prestwick
- Rothesay
- Selkirk
- Shawlands Glasgow
- Shotts
- St. George's Cross Glasgow
- St. Rollox Glasgow
- Stevenston
- Stonehaven
- Strathaven
- Stromness
- Tain
- Tollcross Edinburgh
- Tranent
- Troon
- Turriff
- Uddingston
- West Kilbride
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will make a statement on criteria used by the Post Office for considering post offices for agency status and the extent to which the criteria vary for rural post offices.
§ Mr. McLoughlinI understand from the Post Office that directly managed post offices, wherever located, are considered for conversion to agencies on the following criteria
the service benefit of changing—longer opening hours, better location;financial benefits;ability to redeploy/reduce staff numbers voluntarily;availability of a suitable partner to become agent.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what safeguards are used by the Post Office to ensure the rights of existing staff in post offices which are transferred to agency status.
§ Mr. McLoughlinI understand from the Post Office that all conversions have been achieved without compulsory redundancy. When a conversion occurs, staff are offered alternative jobs within the organisation or the opportunity to leave the business on voluntary redundancy terms.
§ Mr. DonohoeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what consultation procedures are adopted by the Post Office when considering franchising a post office.
§ Mr. McLoughlinI understand from the Post Office that consultation is carried out in accordance with the code of practice agreed between Post Office Counters Ltd. and the Post Office Users National Council, and involves the local Member of Parliament, local government authorities and the appropriate post office advisory committee or chamber of commerce.