HC Deb 28 April 2003 vol 404 cc183-5W
Mr. Tynan

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what recent assessment she has made of changes in(a) Post Office footfall, (b) Post Office profitability and (c) benefit take up rates in those areas where the 'Your Guide' pilot scheme operated and was subsequently withdrawn. [109884]

Mr. Timms

These are operational matters for Post Office Ltd. And I have asked the Chief Executive to write direct to the hon. Member.

Mr. Tynan

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what elements of the Your Guide pilot scheme have been continued and remained in place as at 1 April. [109887]

Mr. Timms

None. The facility was discontinued at the end of the pilot period in March 2002.

Mr. Ruffley

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much has been spent on supporting rural sub-post offices in Suffolk since 1997. [108778]

Mr. Timms

The rural network benefits from investment in the network generally. For example, the rural network benefits from the considerable investment in the Network's IT, and in new products, including universal banking services. On automation alone the Government has made the largest ever investment in the Post Office network—£480 million—much of it on the rural network. There is no breakdown of the proportion of this funding that has been spent on supporting rural sub-post offices in Suffolk since 1997.

A number of measures are already in place to maintain the network of rural post offices. These include the formal requirement placed o n the Post Office in November 2000 to prevent any avoidable closures and the establishment of a £2 million capital start up fund to support volunteer and community initiatives to maintain or re-establish a post office facility where the traditional post office is under threat of closure or has recently closed. Under this scheme, grants of up to £20,000 are available to support the costs of relocating or refurbishing alternative premises. Of the £2 million fund to support community post office initiatives 165 grants have been approved, totalling £1,231,454, and payments totalling £931,478 paid as at end of March 2003. To end March 2003, grants from this fund to a total value of £16,933 had been approved in respect of four applications from Suffolk.

Rural post offices in Suffolk will, of course, benefit from the £450 million package of financial support for the rural post office network that I announced on 2 December.

Jon Trickett

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many(a) post offices and (b) sub-post offices there were in the Hemsworth constituency in each year since 1996. [109910]

Mr. Timms

Except for a special exercise undertaken in 1999 to determine the numbers of post offices in each parliamentary constituency and how many of them derived more than 40 per cent. of their income from benefits work, Post Office Ltd. did not collate data on the numbers of post offices by parliamentary constituency until April 2002, when they compiled such a list of post offices classifying them as urban or rural offices. A copy of this list is held in the Libraries of the House.

Jon Trickett

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many(a) post offices and (b) sub-post offices there are in the Hemsworth constituency; and how many of them transact more than 40 per cent. of their work from paying benefits and pensions. [109911]

Mr. Timms

A special exercise was undertaken by the Post Office in 1999 to determine the numbers of post offices in each Parliamentary constituency and how many of them derived more than 40 per cent. of their income from benefits work. That information is set out in the reply given to the then hon. Member for Birmingham, Erdington on 29 November 1999,Official Report, column 22W, and remains the latest information available in that form.

Mr. Paul Marsden

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the level of disabled access at Maesbrook post office in Shrewsbury. [109663]

Mr. Timms

This is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to write direct to the hon. Member.

Mr. Paul Marsden

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment she has made of the effects on(a) pensioners, (b) the disabled and (c) the unemployed of the closure of Meole Brace post office in Shrewsbury. [109662]

Mr. Timms

These are operational matters for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to write direct to the hon. Member. The proposal to close Meole Brace post office is subject to public consultation under the Code of Practice agreed between Post Office Ltd. and Postwatch.

Mr. Paul Marsden

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps the Post Office has taken to investigate(a) the long-term viability of Meole Brace post office and (b) alternatives to closing the post office. [109666]

Mr. Timms

These are operational matters for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to write direct to the hon. Member.

Mr. Paul Marsden

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post office staff based in Shrewsbury were subjected to(a) verbal and (b) physical attacks in the last year. [109667]

Mr. Timms

These are operational matters for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to write direct to the hon. Member.

Mr. Paul Marsden

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the(a) volume and (b) value of transactions was in the last year at the Meole Brace post office in Shrewsbury. [109668]

Mr. Timms

These are operational matters for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to write direct to the hon. Member.