Greg Mulholland-Working Hard For Leeds North WestSIMPLE MEASURE COULD ENSURE FUTURE OF CARD ACCOUNT AND BE MASSIVE BOOST TO LOCAL POST OFFICES - MULHOLLAND
October 22, 2008 12:00 PM
Local MP Greg Mulholland has backed new measures by fellow Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron to keep the Post Office Card Accounts - which many local post offices depend upon for their revenue - as a viable service in post office branches. The plans would see one of the newly nationalised banks take control of running the Post Office Card Account in conjunction with Post Office Ltd, providing a huge boost to local post office branches fighting for survival.
Commenting Greg said:
"Post offices locally and across the country are already being forced to close, and the reality is that without the customers who use the Post Office for the card account, even more branches will be forced to shut up shop.
"However, now that we have state owned banks, it is surely within the power of the Treasury to instruct one of them to run the POCA in partnership with Post Office Ltd and give the tax payer something back for their money.
"It would be a simple and effective measure that would provide a massive boost to local post offices, and could be the difference between them remaining open, or shut for good"
ENDS
Notes to editors
1. Greg has signed an Early Day Motion tabled by Tim Farron to call for the banks to run the Card Account in conjunction with Post Office Ltd. A copy of this can be found below.
EDM 2259
BANK GUARANTEE FOR THE POST OFFICE CARD ACCOUNT
15.10.2008
Farron, Timothy
That this House recognises the importance of the Post Office Card Account (POCA) to the survival of the Post Office network; expresses concern at the 2,500 post offices that were marked for closure and the potential further closure of over 3,000 post offices due to the loss of local services; further recognises that the Government is in the position to give the taxpayer something back for their money by guaranteeing the POCA remains with Post Office Ltd; and calls on the Treasury to instruct one of the newly taken over banks to run the Post Office Card Account in partnership with the Post Office Ltd, which would ensure the survival of its network of 14,500 branches.
What would you like to do next?
-
Subscribe for updates
Follow the party's activity on...
- Twitter:
- Liberal Democrats
- Facebook:
- Liberal Democrats
- YouTube:
- Liberal Democrats