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

In the chamber today Montgomeryshire Liberal Democrat AM Mick Bates slammed the Labour Party’s neglect of the Post Office Network, which has caused devastation to local Post Offices and led to the wave of closures currently sweeping across Wales.

Mick Bates AM: “In 2005-06 Labour removed £168million of business from the Post Office network. In that same year the Post Office ran an operating deficiency of £111million. Labour's erosion of services turned a potential profit of over £50m, into a deficit of twice that, and has sucked the life out of this invaluable network since then.

“It is clear that the Labour Party has been the cause of the destruction of the Post Office Network. I have campaigned for over a year to save our Post Office network in Montgomeryshire and I am deeply disappointed by the latest wave of closures announced for Mid Wales.

“Closing Post Offices not only removes the vibrant hub of a community but locals will be forced to travel further to access these services at another outlet. For the elderly and for those without transport of their own this will be massively inconvenient and will leave them feeling isolated. Those who can access a nearby service will no longer be spending money in our local communities which will have a negative impact on our local businesses and services.”

Since Labour came into power in 1997 over 4,000 Post Office branches have closed and 3,500 branches were closed under the last Conservative Government.

“This year alone the Labour Government has directed the closure of 2,500 Post Offices across the UK with the resulting loss of hundreds of jobs to local economies and the ensuing decline in our local communities from the loss of such a valuable local service” added Mick.

“Under a Labour Government we have seen Post Offices lose huge amounts of work, including TV licences, vehicle excise duty and passport authentication. It is crucial that the Labour-Plaid Assembly Government works with its Westminster colleagues and Post Office Ltd to bring more business to our local Post Offices to ensure they have a sustainable and viable business plan for the future.”


End / Diwedd


Notes:

Following the consultation on Post Office closures announced for Mid Wales yesterday, the following Post Offices will be affected in Montgomeryshire:

Nantoer (already temporarily closed) and Garth-Owen are proposed for closure.

The following Post Offices are proposed for outreach service:

Berriew – Mobile Service, 8 hours a week
Abermule - Mobile Service, 8 hours a week
Castle Caereinion - Mobile Service, 5 hours a week
Sarn - Mobile Service, 2 hours a week
Carno - Partner service for 11 hours a week
Llanbrynmair - Hosted service for 9 hours a week
Trefeglwys - Hosted service for 3 hours per week

Lembit & Mick have been campaigning for over 12 months against the latest set of Post Office closures including an online campaign at www.savemontgomeryshirespostoffices.co.uk 

The Liberal Democrats, at Spring 2006 conference, agreed a policy to separate the Post Office from the Royal Mail Group and free the network from Royal Mail controls that limited the business of branches whilst raising £2 billion for investment in branches from the sale of shares in Royal Mail.