I have received an overwhelming number of cards from constituents as part of the campaign to award the card account to the Post Office. Although i am writing to everyone who gets in touch about this directly I thought it might be useful to put my views on the matter here also.
I am very keen for the contract for the new card account to be awarded to the Post Office. Only the Post Office has the network to allow people from all over the country to access a card account of this kind. Other competitors have a good coverage in urban areas but not in rural areas like large parts of my constituency
It is essential that people are able to access their savings and benefits over the counter at their local Post Office. Without access through an organisation like the Post Office some may be denied access to their own money.
There is huge frustration that the Government simply do not recognise the social value of the Post Office. I have been fighting for many months against the closure of Post Offices in my constituency and have been greatly disappointed that so many closures have now taken place.
The card account contract is worth around £1 billion to post offices between 2003 and 2010. Without that income stream, many thousands of branches are likely to be unable to survive. Quite simply, the people who most need the service of a post office will be most affected
I have signed EDM 1506 and will continue to petition for the preservation of Post Office services for our communities.
Mark Oaten