5-04-04

Consultation on city Post Office closures must have integrity – Barrett

John Barrett, Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West, today called on Post Office management to review the consultation process for branch closures, after evidence emerged of mistakes and inaccurate information being given out in other parts of the UK.

The list of post office closures in Edinburgh is expected to be published in the Summer, part of a major cost cutting exercise in which 3,000 post offices will close nationwide.  Once the list is published, a 6 week consultation process will commence for people to object.

However, a number of MPs going through this process in their own areas have found major flaws in the notification, consultation and decision making processes. In some cases, rural post offices were wrongly classed as 'urban'. On one occasion in Cheadle, near Manchester, a post office was closed on the same day the local MP, Patsy Calton, was told a final decision had not been taken.

John Barrett has now written to the Head of Scottish Affairs at the Post Office Ltd, urging him to ensure any flaws with the consultation process are removed before the program of Edinburgh closures begins.

In a statement, Mr Barrett said:

"The six week consultation process is the only process available to me and my constituents to make objections to any local post office closures.  It is vital that people are able to trust the integrity of that process and that the clear problems seen in other parts of the country are not allowed to happen in the Capital.

"Many people are deeply concerned about the pending branch closures, which could remove key services from their community.  That is why the consultation process must be as open, thorough and above all reliable."

ENDS