Contact/Cyswllt:  Sian Cliff
02920 898342 / sian.cliff@wales.gov.uk

Welsh Liberal Democrat Mick Bates has slammed the First Minister’s failure to commit to the re-opening of the Post Office Development fund.

The Fund which closed in 2004 was established by the Liberal Democrat Labour Partnership Government to help post offices in Wales’ most deprived areas and isolated communities to stay open and become more accessible. A report by the Assembly Government in May 2006 highlighted the many benefits of the fund, which made many post offices more diverse, commercially viable and of great advantage to the local community.

Calling for a set date for the Post Office Development Fund to be re-established in Wales, Mick Bates highlighted his disappointment following First Minister’s question time that once again the Labour-Plaid coalition Government failed to deliver:

“For several weeks now the Welsh Liberal Democrats have pressed the Labour-Plaid Government for a date for when the fund will be re-established but they keep skirting the issue and failing to show any real commitment.

“There is no use in waiting for post offices to be closed across the country – the Post Office Development Fund must be re-opened now before it is too late for so many of our local post offices. The Post Office along with many local services is essential to retaining vibrant communities both in rural and urban Wales and this money is crucial to giving them the freedom to increase their business and to prosper.

“The Labour-Plaid Government is taunting the people of Wales with a cheque that cannot be cashed as it has no date. By failing to commit to a sustainable future for our local services this coalition Government is failing the people of Wales.”


NOTES:

The Post Office Development Fund enabled 106 post offices in Wales to remain open between 2002 and 2004 with £4.1 million in support.

End / Diwedd