Plans by the Government to slash the subsidy for rural post offices and to abolish the Post Office Card Account will decimate the Post Office network in both rural and urban areas of Wales, the Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black, has said.
Mr. Black was speaking after it was revealed that an announcement is to be made this Thursday by Trade and Industry Secretary, Alistair Darling, detailing planned closures across the UK of about one fifth of the network of 14,000 Post Offices. However, due to the rural nature of Wales, it is estimated that these cuts could mean the loss of nine out of every ten of rural Welsh Post Offices. In 2000 Wales had 1,029 rural branches, yet now there are only 847, a fall of nearly 18% in just six years. That rate of loss is likely to accelerate exponentially as a result of government plans.
These cuts will be exacerbated according to the AM, by the abolition of the Post Office Card Account which will make many branches in urban deprived areas unviable. A survey of Post Offices conducted by Mr. Black in his South Wales West region earlier this year revealed that more than two thirds of Postmasters believe that their business will have to close as a result of Labour's plans to abolish the Post Office card account. Many of these Post Offices are in deprived urban areas with a large number of pensioners and people on benefits.
"The Government is about to execute a double whammy on the Welsh Post Office network," said Mr, Black. "On the one hand they are about to close the vast majority of Wales' rural Post Offices through cutting back on the subsidy available to them. On the other hand they are threatening the future viability of urban Post Offices in deprived areas by axing the card account that many pensioners and claimants rely on to continue using their local Post Office. These plans will devastate hundreds of communities across Wales."
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