POST OFFICE: BEIS SELECT COMMITTEE INQUIRY – POST OFFICE NETWORK

POST OFFICE: BEIS SELECT COMMITTEE INQUIRY – POST OFFICE NETWORK

I am pleased to advise Branches and our Post Office members that a BEIS Select Committee Inquiry is to be held regarding the Post Office Network as follows:

BEIS Select Committee Inquiry – “the franchising of Post Offices, the reduction of Government subsidies, and the long-term resilience of the service”.

An evidence hearing will be held on Tuesday 21st May at which the Union will be giving oral evidence and written submissions have been invited prior to the closure date of Monday 6th May. We will be drafting a written submission in conjunction with the GS Department with support from our Research Department.

This is very positive news and we expect the Post Office to be highly criticised by key stakeholders for their decision to privatise 74 Crown Offices to WH Smith, which has consistently been voted the worst retailer on the high street by Which magazine. Importantly, three key aspects of written evidence the inquiry will be examining are:

Crown Post Offices

• Do you have confidence that franchises can maintain and improve current service levels in the Crown Post Offices they take over? 
• What contingencies should the Government have in place in case franchises fail? 
• Should the Government seek to ensure that staff terms and conditions are preserved when a franchise takes over a Crown Post Office?

A parliamentary press release containing the full details of the scope of the inquiry is attached to this LTB for your information. The link to the BEIS announcement on the parliamentary website is as follows:

https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/business-energy-industrial-strategy/inquiries/parliament-2017/post-office-network-17-19/

Further developments will be reported.

If you have any questions in relation to this LTB, please contact Lea Sheridan – lsheridan@cwu.org.

Yours sincerely

 

Andy Furey

Assistant Secretary

19LTB215 Post Office – BEIS Select Committee Inquiry – Post Office Network

Attachment 1 to LTB215-19 – Press Release