NEWS that the Post Office card account will remain with the Post Office has been warmly greeted this week.
Alan Reid MP for Argyll and Bute has welcomed the decision by Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell that the account will not be hived off from the Post Office as ‘a massive victory for the thousands of pensioners in Argyll and Bute who use the card account to collect their pension’ and will save 3,000 Post Offices across the UK from closure.
The MP had campaigned to stop the Government taking the contract to pay pensions in cash over the counter away from the Post Office.
‘Nearly two thousand people from Argyll and Bute wrote to me protesting at the Government’s threat to the Post Office Card Account and I am delighted that the Government have responded by reissuing the Post Office with the card account,’ said Mr Reid after the announcement.
‘This is a victory for all the people in Argyll and Bute who have been campaigning to keep the card account with the Post Office, and shows that local campaigning really does work.’
Still risks of closure
He added that many more post offices will continue to close as a direct consequence of the Government’s policy of removing services, such as paying the TV licence, from post offices and that he would keep up his campaign to persuade the Government to give more business to Post Offices.
Argyll and Bute’s MSP also welcomed the Westminster decision. Jim Mather said: ‘Now would be an opportune time for the government to spell out what further steps it will be taking to encourage the network to develop financial products and deliver government services in a way that would ensure that its role and sustainability were built upon.
‘At a time of financial uncertainty, the Post Office is uniquely placed to develop a trusted and accessible local service.
‘It is hoped that the decline of past years, largely encouraged by central government actions, can be successfully reversed.’
