On this matter, as on all matters in Macclesfield, my hon. Friend is a constant campaigner on behalf of his local community. I will absolutely raise that branch with Post Office management.

The hon. Member for Chester South and Eddisbury mentioned Sandra and Tony, the local sub-postmasters in her area. In my community, I think of Nancy from Harvie Avenue post office in Newton Mearns. She plays a similar role—she not only serves people, but is the cornerstone of the local community. The network of 11,000 post office branches that the hon. Lady talked about makes it the largest retail network in the country, with an unrivalled reach into our cities, towns and villages, which is why it is so important to have this debate.

As the Minister responsible for postal affairs, I am always happy to, and always do, raise issues with Post Office management on behalf of Members of the House. However, I know that the hon. Lady understands that although the Post Office is publicly owned, it operates as a commercial organisation aside from Government. That means it has the commercial freedom to deliver the branch network, but within the access criteria set by the Government, as she rightly pointed out. Those criteria are so important because they set the minimum level of service that should be provided to everyone across the country—for example, the requirement that 99% of the population live within three miles, and 95% of the total urban population within one mile, of their nearest postal service.

The hon. Lady asked whether the Government will continue with those access criteria. It is some time since the Government have looked at those criteria, but we are doing so through the green paper and the responses to it. Our starting assumption was that we would maintain that number of post offices, with one eye on their importance to rural communities, which the hon. Lady rightly raised. However, as it has been so long since those access criteria were set, it is right that we take the time to ask whether they are still right for post offices, communities and postmasters.

On post office provision within the hon. Lady’s Constituency, 21 branches are operating in her area, serving thousands of customers each month and helping to support the local economy. She raised my Department’s research on the economic value of that across the country—some £5.2 billion in social value and about £1.3 billion for local SMEs—which is particularly felt in her constituency and others with large rural areas.

Let me turn to Kelsall post office, which closed after the resignation of the operator, the Co-op. I completely understand the painful impact that a branch closure can have on a community. The fear that the service will never return can be disruptive. The hon. Lady comes from a small-business background herself, so she will know that, in a franchise model, there will be fluctuations, particularly in a network made up of so many small businesses and the commercial decisions behind them.

I hope that the Post Office’s advertising campaign to find suitable alternative operators for that branch offers some reassurance to the hon. Lady and her constituents. The time it takes to reopen a branch varies depending on the individual circumstances, but at the end of that process the Government’s access criteria will ensure that, whatever form the network takes, services remain within reach of citizens. I hope that we can find a suitable operator for the Kelsall branch.

The hon. Lady said that the Post Office, like any retailer, faces pressure from continually evolving consumer behaviour and all the other pressures that businesses face, and particularly small businesses. Although access to Government services in post offices is important to many customers, services are not utilised as much as they were in the past, and people are sending fewer letters through the post office network year on year. On the other hand, as she rightly said, cash and banking services have become so important to the Post Office. She asked for reassurance on that. I absolutely recognise how essential that part of the business is for the Post Office. I welcome the banking framework 4 agreement between the major banks and the Post Office, which has come into effect this year. It will mean that the Post Office will be able to increase the income that postmasters receive for delivering banking services, further recognising their important role on high streets.

It is clear that the Post Office must continue to evolve and adapt to shifting needs and trends in local and national economies. That is why our Green Paper, which I mentioned a moment ago, seeks to open a dialogue on the future of the Post Office, from the services that it provides and how we can modernise and strengthen the network, to how we change the culture—particularly with regard to the legacy of the Horizon scandal—and the way in which the Post Office is managed. Thousands of individuals, postmasters and stakeholders have contributed to the consultation, and I thank them for doing so. We will publish our response in the coming weeks.

The hon. Lady also mentioned Malpas post office. I congratulate her on her successful campaign. As she will know, cash services at that branch were reinstated in November.

More generally, we remain completely committed to the future of the Post Office. We are providing £83 million in subsidies for the network this year, and half a billion pounds of investment over the next few years to help the Post Office transform so that it has a sustainable future and to ensure that postmasters are better remunerated, in addition to the subsidy I mentioned, which aims to keep particularly uncommercial and rural parts of the network open. That ambition will, I know, be supported by Members across the House who recognise how important post offices are in anchoring our local communities.

Question put and agreed to.

House adjourned.