THURSO URGES GREATER SUPPORT FOR POST OFFICE

12.00.00am GMT Thu 12th Jan 2006

Local MP John Thurso, speaking yesterday in the Commons on Rural Post Offices, called on the Government to make greater use of the rural Post Office network in delivering its services at local level.

The MP underlined the pivotal role which the "local" Post Office continues to play in North Highland communities and urged the Government to consider ways and means of more widely utilising the network to help boost its income and secure its future viability.

Speaking after the debate, John Thurso said:

"The Post Office has suffered a significant drop in income and innovative means have to be found to meet the changed circumstances. The mobile unit currently being trialled in Caithness offers one possible form of delivery but we have encountered serious technical problems with regard to the reliability of the vehicle. This has been a cause of deep concern to those who may frequently rely on its visits to access their weekly budget. We should perhaps be considering more rigorously whether there is a local hotel, pub, petrol station or even Tourist Information Centre which could serve as a Post Office outlet.

"What is clear to me is that the Government does have a responsibility in this area. The migration of benefits has proved very damaging to the Post Office. The Government must not repeat that mistake. Ministers should recognise the social and economic value of the rural network to the communities which it serves and consider all possible means of bringing new business to it."