Chamber
Plenary, 06 Dec 2006
06 Dec 2006 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Rural Post Offices
I congratulate John Swinney on securing a debate on what is an important matter for the whole of rural Scotland.
I appreciate that support for sub-post offices is reserved to Westminster but, given its impact on the economy of rural Scotland, I believe that the Scottish Executive must take an interest in the issue. I raised the matter with the Deputy Minister for Communities at question time last week, and I am sure that it will be a live issue over the coming months.
Only yesterday, the DTI indicated that there will be a phased reduction of post offices, which means that hundreds of rural post offices in Scotland are likely to close. Recently, the chief executive of Royal Mail, Adam Crozier, stated that he can meet his legal obligations with a network of just 4,000 post offices in the UK. These are worrying times for sub-postmasters and those who depend on sub-post offices.
The DTI also announced yesterday that the consultation period will run until March, and any decisions will be taken after the Scottish Parliament elections in May. Even by the standards of this Labour Government, that appears to be a deeply cynical approach and an attempt to kick the issue into the long grass until after the election. The Government can be assured that it will not get away with trying to cover up the issue.
I will outline what is happening in some areas of my parliamentary region of Mid Scotland and Fife. In 1999, the parliamentary constituency of North Tayside had 50 post offices. Under the proposed plans, the number would be reduced to 27—a cut of almost half. In Perth constituency, the number would fall from 31 in 1999 to 20. In Stirling constituency, it would fall from 37 to 27. Those are depressing figures that do not give much hope to the post office network or the customers who use it.
My Conservative colleagues at Westminster have already pledged to rewrite sub-postmasters' contracts to allow them to provide a much greater range of products and services, including private mail services. They have also called on the Government to review its decision to abolish the Post Office card account, which is hugely important to people who do not have bank accounts. Around 1 million of our most vulnerable people cannot or do not have bank accounts. The Post Office card account is a vital source of revenue for post offices.
Part of the solution is to encourage new sources of income for post offices. We could encourage local councils to examine what services could be provided through the post office network. A council counter could be set up to offer advice on local services. The local post office could be used as a kind of Government general practitioner, with trained staff advising on a range of matters, including pension entitlements, benefits and how to apply for disabled parking badges. The problem is that those and other schemes that have been piloted, such as links between post offices and the police, will only ever be part of the solution; they will never replace in its entirety the existing post office support.
I echo the calls that others have made for the Executive to make serious representations to the DTI about the detrimental impact that closures would have on Scotland's rural economy.
I appreciate that support for sub-post offices is reserved to Westminster but, given its impact on the economy of rural Scotland, I believe that the Scottish Executive must take an interest in the issue. I raised the matter with the Deputy Minister for Communities at question time last week, and I am sure that it will be a live issue over the coming months.
Only yesterday, the DTI indicated that there will be a phased reduction of post offices, which means that hundreds of rural post offices in Scotland are likely to close. Recently, the chief executive of Royal Mail, Adam Crozier, stated that he can meet his legal obligations with a network of just 4,000 post offices in the UK. These are worrying times for sub-postmasters and those who depend on sub-post offices.
The DTI also announced yesterday that the consultation period will run until March, and any decisions will be taken after the Scottish Parliament elections in May. Even by the standards of this Labour Government, that appears to be a deeply cynical approach and an attempt to kick the issue into the long grass until after the election. The Government can be assured that it will not get away with trying to cover up the issue.
I will outline what is happening in some areas of my parliamentary region of Mid Scotland and Fife. In 1999, the parliamentary constituency of North Tayside had 50 post offices. Under the proposed plans, the number would be reduced to 27—a cut of almost half. In Perth constituency, the number would fall from 31 in 1999 to 20. In Stirling constituency, it would fall from 37 to 27. Those are depressing figures that do not give much hope to the post office network or the customers who use it.
My Conservative colleagues at Westminster have already pledged to rewrite sub-postmasters' contracts to allow them to provide a much greater range of products and services, including private mail services. They have also called on the Government to review its decision to abolish the Post Office card account, which is hugely important to people who do not have bank accounts. Around 1 million of our most vulnerable people cannot or do not have bank accounts. The Post Office card account is a vital source of revenue for post offices.
Part of the solution is to encourage new sources of income for post offices. We could encourage local councils to examine what services could be provided through the post office network. A council counter could be set up to offer advice on local services. The local post office could be used as a kind of Government general practitioner, with trained staff advising on a range of matters, including pension entitlements, benefits and how to apply for disabled parking badges. The problem is that those and other schemes that have been piloted, such as links between post offices and the police, will only ever be part of the solution; they will never replace in its entirety the existing post office support.
I echo the calls that others have made for the Executive to make serious representations to the DTI about the detrimental impact that closures would have on Scotland's rural economy.
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Murray Tosh):
Con
The final item of business is a members' business debate on motion S2M-4876, in the name of John Swinney, on a threat to the rural post office network in Sco...
Motion debated,
That the Parliament notes the public concern over the future of the rural post office network in Perthshire, Angus and other parts of rural Scotland; notes t...
Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP):
SNP
I thank the many members who signed my motion and the Parliamentary Bureau for facilitating an important debate about the future of services in rural Scotlan...
John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP):
SSCUP
Does the member agree that it is not only rural post offices that are at risk, but the whole network of post offices across the country, which is under inten...
Mr Swinney:
SNP
Mr Swinburne makes a fair point. I will say something about the business viability of post offices being jeopardised.Due to the limitations of transport in r...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Con
There is a very long list of members who wish to speak in the debate. I will discuss with the minister whether we might have a brief extension. However, ther...
Nora Radcliffe (Gordon) (LD):
LD
I congratulate John Swinney on instigating this timely debate. At a presentation on 30 November, Tom Begg, the chairman of Postwatch Scotland, said that rura...
Tricia Marwick (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP):
SNP
Will the member give way?
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Con
The member is almost at the end of her time.
Nora Radcliffe:
LD
The report continues:"If the country wants a comprehensive network of Post Offices to continue, a more explicit funding mechanism must be put in place, toget...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Con
Can you wind up please?
Nora Radcliffe:
LD
There are many things that could and should be done to maintain a unique network that is a valuable asset. If we do not use it, we will lose it and, if we lo...
Roseanna Cunningham (Perth) (SNP):
SNP
I congratulate my colleague John Swinney on securing tonight's debate. On 22 September in Birnam, he and I sat at a packed meeting with sub-postmasters from ...
Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con):
Con
I congratulate John Swinney on securing a debate on what is an important matter for the whole of rural Scotland.I appreciate that support for sub-post office...
Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab):
Lab
I thank John Swinney for bringing this important debate to the Parliament this evening.Post office closures have a significant knock-on impact on local commu...
Mr Andrew Arbuckle (Mid Scotland and Fife) (LD):
LD
I thank John Swinney for securing this debate. It is significant that a large number of MSPs from across the political divide are attending and want to speak...
Rob Gibson (Highlands and Islands) (SNP):
SNP
I thank John Swinney for securing the debate.It is clear to me that we need to have joined-up thinking in our own back yard before we make a case for it to L...
Mr Mark Ruskell (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Green):
Green
I thank John Swinney—the man who has had more members' business debates than the entire Scottish Green Party in the second session of the Parliament—for secu...
Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP):
SNP
My last members' business debate earlier in the year was on the subject of the future of Post Office card accounts and the future of our post office network,...
Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD):
LD
I offer John Swinney my warmest congratulations on securing the debate. I am sure that it will worry him that I agree with every word he said.If we were to c...
Mr Jamie McGrigor (Highlands and Islands) (Con):
Con
I congratulate John Swinney on securing the debate and, like Jamie Stone, agree with every word that he said. As another MSP for the Highlands and Islands, I...
The Deputy Presiding Officer:
Con
Before I call the next speaker, I am minded to accept a motion without notice to extend the debate by 10 minutes.
Motion moved,
That, under Rule 8.14.3, the debate be extended until 6.04 pm.—Mr John Swinney.
Motion agreed to.
Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP):
SNP
I congratulate John Swinney on securing this debate, but the problem with debates on post offices is that we have to revisit the issue so often. If, as Jamie...
Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD):
LD
I, too, congratulate John Swinney on securing this debate.The pre-1997 UK Government had the unhappy record of overseeing the closure of 3,500 local post off...
Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP):
SNP
Rural communities are at the heart of the debate. I have the privilege of representing one of the three parliamentary constituencies in Aberdeenshire, where ...
The Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development (Rhona Brankin):
Lab
I, too, am pleased that John Swinney has given us the opportunity to discuss further the important subject of rural postal services. I have rural postal serv...