Chamber
Plenary, 06 Dec 2006
06 Dec 2006 · S2 · Plenary
Item of business
Rural Post Offices
Rural communities are at the heart of the debate. I have the privilege of representing one of the three parliamentary constituencies in Aberdeenshire, where some 57 per cent of people live in a rural setting, which is the highest rate of any mainland council area in Scotland. My constituency is not as remote as Jamie Stone's, but it is more rural than the Highland Council area, by 2 per cent. The debate therefore reflects absolutely the concerns of my constituents.
We have vibrant local communities. There are 32 community council areas in my constituency and communities in my constituency have won the Calor Scottish community of the year award twice in the past five years. There is a huge sense of community in the area. The first place to win the award was Whitehills. During my annual summer tour, I dropped in on the local post office at Whitehills to talk to Annette Addison, who is the postmistress there—I am sure that members know her well. In a community of 1,000, she gathered 900 signatures in an attempt to save the Post Office card account, which graphically indicates the value that the community of Whitehills places on the post office and the services that it delivers.
That happened when post offices had just lost the business of TV Licensing. It is worth putting that in context: in my constituency there are 42 local post offices, but Paypoint plc has only 28 terminals—a significant numerical difference. The situation is worse than members might think: only 10 of the Paypoint terminals are located outside towns that have a population of more than 10,000. The loss of TV Licensing has led to a dramatic drop in the service that is provided to our communities.
In New Deer—a community of just 500 people, which won the Calor Scottish community of the year award this year—an energetic local businessman, Mark Kindness, employs 60 people in a bakery. He has bought and invested in the post office in the adjacent village of Maud. He has done that because he thinks he can just about break even and because he sees the value of community, which is vital throughout Scotland. My constituency is a net contributor to the economy and the post offices are part of the infrastructure that makes our economy and sense of community work. To deprive communities of their post offices is like shutting down the railways in London, which are supported by the public purse as part of community infrastructure—a role which our equally vital post offices also have.
We have vibrant local communities. There are 32 community council areas in my constituency and communities in my constituency have won the Calor Scottish community of the year award twice in the past five years. There is a huge sense of community in the area. The first place to win the award was Whitehills. During my annual summer tour, I dropped in on the local post office at Whitehills to talk to Annette Addison, who is the postmistress there—I am sure that members know her well. In a community of 1,000, she gathered 900 signatures in an attempt to save the Post Office card account, which graphically indicates the value that the community of Whitehills places on the post office and the services that it delivers.
That happened when post offices had just lost the business of TV Licensing. It is worth putting that in context: in my constituency there are 42 local post offices, but Paypoint plc has only 28 terminals—a significant numerical difference. The situation is worse than members might think: only 10 of the Paypoint terminals are located outside towns that have a population of more than 10,000. The loss of TV Licensing has led to a dramatic drop in the service that is provided to our communities.
In New Deer—a community of just 500 people, which won the Calor Scottish community of the year award this year—an energetic local businessman, Mark Kindness, employs 60 people in a bakery. He has bought and invested in the post office in the adjacent village of Maud. He has done that because he thinks he can just about break even and because he sees the value of community, which is vital throughout Scotland. My constituency is a net contributor to the economy and the post offices are part of the infrastructure that makes our economy and sense of community work. To deprive communities of their post offices is like shutting down the railways in London, which are supported by the public purse as part of community infrastructure—a role which our equally vital post offices also have.
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...