Post Offices (Hansard, 17 June 2003)

§ Mr. Dodds
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post office branches have closed permanently in Northern Ireland in each year since 1997. [119046]

§ Mr. Timms
I understand from Post Office Ltd. that details of the number of net post office closures in Northern Ireland, separate from those for the United Kingdom as a whole, are only available from end March 1998 and are as follows:

Number

1998–99 10

1999–2000 8

2000–01 21

2001–02 6

2002–03 12

§ Keith Vaz
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many post offices have closed in the last 12 months. [120070]

§ Mr. Timms
Post office closures are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. All closure proposals are subject to public consultation under the code of practice agreed between Post Office Ltd. and Postwatch. I understand from Post Office Ltd. that in the 12 months to end March 2003, net closures totalled 345 including 102 closures under the urban reinvention programme.

	Number
1998–99	10
1999–2000	8
2000–01	21
2001–02	6
2002–03	12