Longlevens Post Office

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 10:19 pm on 22 March 2004.

Alert me about debates like this

Photo of Stephen Timms Stephen Timms Minister of State (e-Commerce & Competitiveness) 10:19, 22 March 2004

I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate and, as we have heard, on the developments for which this debate has provided a catalyst. I am grateful to him for letting me know the concerns that he wanted to raise, which gave my officials an opportunity to make some urgent inquiries today.

My hon. Friend spelled out clearly the importance of good access to the local post office, and he highlighted the implications of Tesco's intention to remove the post office from its store at Longlevens. Of course, Tesco's decision is a commercial matter for the company. It does not stem directly from Government action, but I recognise the uncertainty that it has placed in the minds of my hon. Friend's constituents, and I want to respond to a number of the important points that he has made. We all share concerns about the future provision of post office services in our constituencies. The Government are fully committed to maintaining a viable nationwide network of post office branches.

The Post Office is undertaking a restructuring programme of its network in urban areas. I have responded in a number of debates in this Chamber and in Westminster Hall to hon. Members who are anxious to make sure that the rationalisation of post offices in their areas does not disadvantage their constituents. Recently, I have heard from a number of hon. Members who are concerned, like my hon. Friend, about Tesco's intentions for post offices within its stores. Tonight's debate will help to clarify what is going on and, I hope, help to alleviate some of the current uncertainty.

The Longlevens post office has not been proposed for closure under the Post Office Ltd. urban post office reinvention programme. It is necessary to draw the distinction that a removal from a Tesco store does not equate to a permanent closure of a post office if the service can continue, as my hon. Friend has argued, from somewhere else nearby.

My hon. Friend rightly made the point that Tesco acquired the T and S group chain of stores at the end of 2002. Tesco took over the post office contracts for the individual sites and is reviewing how many of those post offices will be retained. The group includes stores trading under the One Stop and Dillons names, containing 318 post offices, as he said. I welcome Tesco's assurance that it will work closely with the Post Office when reviewing its stores with post offices.