Post Offices: update on District Council's view

I can't make Cabinet meeting tonight so in haste I put together some comments re the item re Post Offices. Non-Cabinet members are allowed to ask questions but this is not a forum for discussion so in someways it is easier to raise the issues in an email.

Photo: Glorious pheasant - OK nothing to do with post offices but he was splendid

Tonight they vote on delegating writing the report re post offices to a Council Officer and endorsing an investigation into supporting village shops and post offices. See also my post on 6th March re Saturdays protest in Stroud.

I would like to give a huge welcome to SDC for looking at this important issue. Post offices provide so much more than access points for postal services – they are a community hub, especially for the elderly, disabled and less mobile. Closing them will force many of our most vulnerable and isolated residents to lead more difficult lives – and push many local people into their cars.

I would like to make a number of initial points below re the District Council's response to Post Offices Ltd and in their considerations about the ways forward - no doubt most of these you will have in hand already - all the best - Philip

Cllr Philip Booth

1. The Councils previous response to the consultation re Post Offices made some important points but missed mentioning Climate Change and Peak Oil as reasons to support local services. I am sure these will be mentioned in our next response.

2. Of interest is the New Economics Foundation's Local Multiplier analysis applied to post offices in Manchester. It reveals that:
- For every £10 earned in income, the post office generates £16.20 for its local economy – including £6.20 in direct spending on local goods and services.
- Based on in-depth analysis of Manchester post offices, this means that each post office contributes in the region of £310,000 to the local economy each year, of which £120,000 is direct spending on local goods and services.
- In addition, nef’s analysis reveals that each post office saves small businesses in their direct vicinity in the region of £270,000 each year.
While clearly the figures will differ significantly for our local post offices, this is still an issue to raise. The new economics foundation study from a few years ago is at:
http://www.neweconomics.org/gen/lastpost.aspx

3. Explore the moves made by Essex County Council (which apparently are also being looked at by Gloucestershire County Council) to save their Post Offices by offering community postal services alongside ‘one-stop shops’ for council services. We could be negotiating with Post Offices Ltd and the Government to develop a new financial model to keep these post offices open, on a self-sufficient basis, into the long term.

4. Explore further options to support small local and especially rural businesses. Ideas that were raised at last years Policy Panel included reduced business rates, more help with diversification, possible help re the formation of cooperatives to take over existing enterprises and a review of the current grant system that is considered by some as too small to be of value.

My previous personal response to consultation here.