§ Mr. Patrick HallTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how soon the outcome of and lessons learned from the process of the Post Office Urban Reinvention programme will be evaluated and published following the conclusion of that programme. [166820]
§ Mr. TimmsThe urban reinvention programme is managed by Post Office Ltd. and decisions on any evaluation will be a matter for the company. The Government do, of course, monitor its expenditure on this programme and will require the company to confirm on completion that it has met its obligation to ensure that 95 per cent. of the urban population nationally continue to live within one mile of their nearest post office.
Since the programme began, Post Office Ltd. has worked with Postwatch, the consumer watchdog, to improve and refine the processes. This evolutionary nature of the programme has seen a number of significant developments, including my written statement to the House of Commons of 5 February 2004, which details changes to the programme in the light of concerns expressed in Parliament and elsewhere.
In addition, Postcomm, the independent regulator, reports annually to the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry on developments in the post office network. These annual reports are published on Postcomm's's website and copies are placed in the Libraries of the House.
§ Mr. Patrick HallTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make the independent review of the facilities at the Crown post office in Bedford part of a wider review into the facilities of the post office network as a whole in Bedford and Kempston. [166821]
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§ Mr. TimmsThis is an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to my hon. Friend.
§ Mr. Patrick HallTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether the process leading to the decisions Post Office Ltd. has made concerning the closure of sub-post offices are covered by the Government Code of Practice on the release of official information. [167272]
§ Mr. TimmsNo. The final decisions on post office closures following public consultation are operational matters for Post Office Ltd.
§ Mr. Patrick HallTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) whether the rationale of the statement made by the Minister for Energy, E Commerce and Postal Services on 5 February concerning the Post Office Urban Reinvention Network was intended to apply as far as possible to the Area Plan proposals for the Bedford and Kempston parliamentary constituency which were subject to public consultation until 17 February; [167270]
(2) whether the statement made by the Minister for Energy, E Commerce and Postal Services on 5 February concerning the Post Office Urban Reinvention Network came into force with immediate effect. [167271]
§ Mr. TimmsThe changes to the public consultation arrangements for closure proposals under Post Office Ltd.'s urban network reinvention programme announced in my statement of 5 February came into force with immediate effect but were not retrospective in their application. The changes therefore applied to the consultation on closure proposals for Bedford and Kempston to the extent compatible with the stage those consultations had reached as at 5 February.
§ Mrs. CaltonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assessment has been made of the case for Post Office Ltd. developing a role for post offices as government general practitioners and of Government support for this as mentioned in the Performance and Innovation Unit Report of 2000, Chapter 8, page 16, conclusion 18; [166779]
(2) what assessment has been made of the case for Post Office Ltd. developing a role for the Post Office Network as internet and learning and access points as mentioned in the Performance and Innovation Unit Report of 2000, Chapter 8. page 16, conclusion 17. [166827]
§ Mr. TimmsIn line with the Performance and Innovation Unit's recommendations, the Government contributed £25 million to the 'Your Guide' pilot to test the concept of the role for post offices as 'Government General Practitioner' and as internet learning and access points. It was made clear from the outset that the decision on whether or not to roll out a national service would depend on the results of the pilot. The 'Your Guide' pilot showed that a publicly funded national scheme would not represent value for money and we concluded that it should not be rolled out. However, Your Guide highlighted a number of areas in which Government Departments might deliver services through post offices in the future particularly if they could be linked with or channelled through a 535W commercially-based kiosk network. The evaluation report of the Your Guide pilot was published on 23 July 2002 and a copy placed in the Libraries of the House.