§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will instruct Post Office Ltd. to publish a profile of the select teams of personnel involved in walking between each sub-post office proposed for closure in the Wakefield area plan and the named alternative branch indicating how many of the personnel were(a) wheelchair users, (b) physically disabled, (c) aged between 65 to 75 years, (d) aged between 75 to 85 years, (e) aged over 90 years and (f) wheeling pushchairs and accompanied by young children. [162383]
522W
§ Mr. Timms[holding answer 18 March 2004]No. Post Office Ltd. personnel involved in drawing up closure proposals under the urban reinvention programme undertake a detailed on the ground study assessment of the accessibility of the alternative offices identified as the main receiving branches and their facilities for the disabled. This assessment includes the nature of the terrain between the branches, the distance of the journey on foot, including how busy the roads are, where there are pedestrian crossings, traffic lights or underpasses where these need to be crossed. Access by public transport, predominantly by bus, is also checked giving route numbers and distance of stops from the closing and receiving branches. Availability of parking is also checked. The offices in Wakefield scheduled to close have an alternative office within 0.5–0.6 miles accessible by bus.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps she takes to monitor the factual accuracy of information upon which proposals to close sub-post offices are based; what steps have been taken to evaluate the factual accuracy of the Post Office area plan for Wakefield; and if she will make a statement. [162379]
§ Mr. Timms[holding answer 18 March 2004]The public consultation process enables any factual inaccuracies in the proposals to be identified and Postwatch closely monitors every individual closure proposal including factual accuracy of information from a consumer perspective.
§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what assessment has been made of the change in the number of road journeys consequent on the proposal to close sub-post offices within the Wakefield metropolitan district; [162380]
(2) what assessment has been made of the health and social care implications of the proposal to close sub-post offices within the Wakefield metropolitan district; [162381]
(3) what steps were taken during the development of the Post Office area plan for Wakefield to assess the consequences of the plan for levels of road accidents and fatalities involving pedestrians. [162382]
§ Mr. Timms[holding answers 18 March 2004]These are operational matters for Post Office Ltd. and I have asked the Chief Executive to respond direct to my hon. Friend.