John Taylor and Brian Ellis the Knypersley Postmaster

"Give us longer to save Post Office services," says Leader

 John Taylor, Staffordshire County Council's Leader, has called on the Post Office to safeguard services in Staffordshire and extend the consultation over their future.

Post Office Ltd has only set aside six weeks for consultation over threatened services and have not offered Staffordshire any "outreach" alternatives.

Cllr Taylor is calling for a 12-month consultation and meaningful dialogue with the county council and partner organisations.

He said: "Up until last week authorities and organisations across Staffordshire were playing a waiting game - waiting for the publication of the review by Post Office Ltd (POL) into the future of Post Offices in Staffordshire.

"Now the results of that review are out in the open we are finally in a position to draw up a response, but six weeks is not enough. I want the consultation extended, and 12 months seems quite reasonable.

"As a county council we have already made our position clear. That is that we do not want to see vulnerable people losing access to valuable services. We are not saying that those services should be provided in exactly the same way, or from exactly the same buildings, but that the services must be available."

The county council is now working with partners including the Community Council of Staffordshire, other county councils in the region and Postwatch, which is the Consumer Council for Postal Services. The authority will also be talking to the eight district councils in Staffordshire.

"One of the things that immediately struck us about POL's plans for Post Offices is that they have not offered Staffordshire the "outreach" package that other county's will receive," said Cllr Taylor.

Outreach is essentially a way of offering Post Office services in the absence of a Post Office. This can include a mobile Post Office visiting on a regular basis, or Post Office staff setting up shop in another community facility.

Cllr Taylor added: "We want to know why no outreach is planned for Staffordshire. We want to lobby for that to change, and we want to look at what the county council can offer to help that position change.

"We are also taking a long-term view of this issue. The may be only the first round of proposed closures. We need to make sure that all Post Offices in Staffordshire are protected as far as possible from future rounds of cuts, and the best way to do that is to ensure they are viable businesses, and that is why we may be able to offer business support and guidance."

Page Last Modified: 11/04/2008 15:37:47

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