§ Mrs. BallardTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if she will lay down minimum standards for proximity of local communities to sub-post offices. [3380]
§ Mr. Ian McCartneyNo. I have instituted a review of options for implementing our election manifesto pledge to grant the Post Office greater commercial freedom, and against this background the Post Office have agreed to suspend their Crown office conversion programme. However, whilst the Government are committed to a nationwide network of post offices, the location of individual post offices must remain an operational matter for the Post Office.