§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what guidance his Department gives to the Post Office regarding consultation procedures for proposed changes to Crown post offices. [20890]
§ Mr. PageThe implementation of any changes to Crown post offices is a matter for Post Office Counters Ltd.
§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many Crown post offices he expects there to be in each of the next five years. [20891]
§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many representations he has received from members of the public regarding converting Crown post offices to agency status; how many of those have been in favour of such a change; and how many against. [20893]
§ Mr. PageSince the Post Office started its Crown conversion programme in 1989 my Department has received a wide range of correspondence commenting on the programme, most commonly on proposals for individual offices. However, summary records of the numbers of letters received and the views expressed in them are not maintained.
§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what guidance he issues on the categories of shops and businesses in which it is(a) appropriate and (b) inappropriate to situate post offices. [20894]
§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the President of the Board of Trade how many Crown post offices there were in(a) 1979, (b) 1985, (c) 1990 and (d) the last year for which figures are available. [20895]
§ Mr. PageI understand from the Post Office that the information requested is as follows:
664W
Date Number of Crown Post Offices 31 March 1979 1,580 3 April 1985 1,553 28 March 1990 1,339 28 February 1995 735 The total number of post offices offering the full range of Post Office services is currently 1,506.
§ Mrs. RocheTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will ensure that Post Office guidelines about suitable outlets for agency post offices are published in theOfficial Report and placed in the Library. [21026]