Mobile post offices ‘doomed’

PLANS for mobile post offices to replace some branches being axed are doomed to fail, MPs warned today.

The Commons Business and Enterprise Select Committee found that inadequate funding threatened the scheme, and called for the National Audit Office to investigate the financial arrangements for so-called outreach services across the country.

There are plans to close eight post offices across Oldham — Buckstones Road, Shaw; Egerton Street, Brackley Square; Grasscroft; Greenacres Moor, Huddersfield Road; Lees; Lower Rushcroft, Shaw; Ripponden Road, Moorside; and Scouthead.

The hit list is part of plans to slim down the network by 2,500 branches in an attempt to stem weekly losses of £4 million.

In their place will be 500 outreach services.

But committee chairman Peter Luff said: “We remain concerned that the funding provided for outreach services may be inadequate.

“If this is the case, outreach services will fail, and the network be diminished.

“A significant amount of public funding is provided to sustain the network. We need to be confident the public receives the services this is meant to secure.

“We recommend that the National Audit Office investigate the financial arrangements for outreach services.”

And they also urged close examination of the relationship between Post Office Ltd and its parent company Royal Mail Group after finding that money provided by Royal Mail was not enough for the Post Office to run its services. The concerns were raised in a report on Post Office finance, which heard evidence from Post Office Ltd and postal services watchdog Postwatch.

MPs also called for clarification on what services Royal Mail would provide — given Post Office Ltd’s managing director Alan Cool telling the committee the cash provided was not enough to run services.

The report says: “In 2007-08, Post Office Ltd received £358 million for providing mail services to the Royal Mail Group.

“We urge the independent review of mail services and Postcomm to look closely at the relationship between the two bodies.”