Postal Services Bill

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord, Lord Young, for his Amendment 22B. An annual report on the Post Office network laid before Parliament is an important means of achieving transparency around the Post Office network. The statutory requirement in Clause 11 to lay such a report before Parliament already goes further than the current requirement in the Postal Services Act 2000, which requires only information about the number and location of post offices and their accessibility. Neither Government nor Post Office Ltd can ensure that no post offices close during the reporting period, nor can they ensure that there is always time to carry out a consultation before an office closes. For example, a sub-postmaster or sub-postmistress may retire or move away, or the premises may be damaged by fire or flooding. After all, 97 per cent of post offices are privately owned and privately operated businesses. Other than in exceptional circumstances, Post Office Ltd will always seek to maintain service provision including outreach or community options. If permanent closure without any replacement is proposed, the Post Office must undertake a local consultation in line with the code of practice agreed with Consumer Focus. Indeed, that code has recently been updated and now includes a number of significant benefits for consumers with specific protections which will require Post Office Ltd to keep local representatives better informed in cases where the branch does not reopen for a significant period. It will, for example, allow consumers to use a telephone helpline to find out about temporary breaks in service and, for the first time, see Post Office Ltd notifying those customers who respond to consultations with substantive comments of the relevant decisions made following the consultation. Post Office Ltd will now, as a matter of fact, also contact local and parish councillors about proposed service changes to provision in the area. That will be an important means of putting local communities in the driving seat, empowering them to work more closely with the Post Office to develop services which respond to local needs and priorities. In view of these reassurances regarding the number of post offices that must be maintained and the information included in the report, as well as the revised code of practice, I hope that the noble Lord, Lord Young, will feel able to withdraw his amendment.