HC Deb 06 February 2004 vol 417 cc1095-6W
Mr. Sheerman

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what action she will take to ensure that local communities in Huddersfield are adequately served by post offices. [152726]

Mr. Timms

Post Office Ltd. has undertaken that, on completion of its programme to rationalise the urban post office network, in the UK as a whole 95 per cent. of the urban population will still live within one mile of the nearest post office and it is expected that the majority will live within half a mile.

The Government have also placed a formal requirement on Post Office Ltd. to maintain the rural network. The Government have made available £450 million to underpin this obligation, in the first instance to 2006.

Mr. Wiggin

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many(a) rural post offices and (b) urban post offices have closed in Wales in each year since 1997, broken down by (i) constituency and (ii) local authority area. [151755]

Mr. Timms

Decisions on post office closures are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Mr. Jenkin

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will list the post offices which have been closed since 1997 in the North Essex constituency; and when each closed. [152014]

Mr. Timms

[holding answer 30 January 2004]Decisions on post office closures are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Michael Fabricant

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the reasons for the closure of the sub-post office in Southill in South Dorset, with particular reference to its distance from other post offices. [152402]

Mr. Timms

Decisions on post office closures are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Mr. Edwards

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what public consultation was held with the local community about the proposed closure of Stanhope Street Post Office in Abergavenny; and what the outcome was. [150637]

Mr. Timms

Decisions on post office closure proposals following public consultation are an operational matter for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to reply direct to the hon. Member.

Mr. Wiggin

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will make a statement on the responsibility of the Government under UK and EU law to provide an adequate postal service to the community. [152791]

Mr. Timms

The Government consider the maintenance of a universal postal service in this country to be of the highest importance. That is why the obligation is enshrined in primary legislation in the Postal Services Act 2000 and why Postcomm has the primary statutory duty to ensure the provision of a universal postal service at an affordable uniform tariff.

We wrote the universal service into law—Clause 4, section 1 of the Act guarantees:

  • A delivery every working day to homes across the UK.
  • A collection every working day from access points through out the UK.
  • A uniform and affordable price for posting a standard letter.

There are certain minimum requirements under Directives 97/67/EC and 2002/39/EC with regard to universal service. The directives leave discretion to member states, via their regulators, to define the specific requirements of the Universal Service within their national territory.

Postcomm is currently developing a more precise definition of the universal service as it is provided in the UK.