No cost ATMs are welcome but they are no substitute for local Post Offices says AM

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Sat 19th Jul 2008

Moves by the Government to establish no-cost cash point machines in less well-off communities throughout Wales have been welcomed by Welsh Liberal Democrat Social Justice Spokesperson, Peter Black but he has warned that they should not be seen as a replacement for the loss of local Post Offices.

Mr. Black was responding to a recent Ministerial statement pointing out that over one million people are benefiting from 419 new non-charging cash machines installed in low-income areas throughout the UK in the last 18 months.

Mr. Black said: "The Welsh Liberal Democrats spoke out against the High Street banks at the time concerning the huge increase in the siting of cash machines that charge customers for taking out their money, so it is good to see that the government stepped in and did something.

"However, there is a deep contradiction in Labour Ministers struggling to get the industry to site no-fee cash machines in low income areas while at the same time slashing the Welsh Post Office network which provides more essential services than the simple access to one's own money in many of these self-same communities.

"In the South Wales West region for instance. Labour has identified 45 sites for these no-cost cash machines, and has got nine installed so far. Yet they want to axe 16 post offices across the region. The Ministerial statement makes great play of this cash machine initiative as being clear evidence of the Government's determination to tackle financial exclusion. If Labour were really serious about tackling the problems of these communities they would scrap their post office closure plans tomorrow, and implement the Welsh Liberal Democrat plan for saving and developing the post office network instead.