Meeting of the Parliament 10 December 2024
Rachael Hamilton is absolutely correct, and where post offices and banks are at risk, it would surely be logical to bring postal and banking services under one roof.
Ahead of the debate, Age Scotland sent me an informative briefing on how people aged over 50 view services in their local communities. Facilities that are viewed as being essential within 20 minutes of home include a bank, according to 32 per cent of those surveyed; a post office, at 23 per cent; and community spaces, at 23 per cent. The post office in Haddington fulfils all those functions, because it is a post office, for some customers it is a bank, and for many customers it is a source of community engagement.
As banks continue to retreat, it will be increasingly important that post offices take up the slack. It is also important that we remember that Crown post offices provide services in addition to those that are provided by banking hubs or by sub-postmasters. We must, therefore, do everything that we can to try to defend them, because otherwise people have to go online or engage in longer journeys. That counts against the climate change targets that we are setting and is simply impossible for some older people or people in rural areas who still lack access to high-speed broadband.
When I spoke to the Post Office about the closure of the branch in Haddington, it said that that is being done to make savings and so that it can look at how it could fund sub-postmasters in the future. However, it would be an absolute tragedy if, because of the mistakes that the Post Office has made in the past, customers were to be impacted into the future.
With regard to the post office in Haddington, I was informed that there are three potential outcomes. One would be outright closure, the second would be to try to find somebody else to take over the franchise of that post office and the third would be a potential move to another location. I would be totally opposed to the closure, and I question whether moving or closing such a popular and well-used facility would be in the interests of the town.
It is clear that the services are vitally important for everyone in our communities, and especially for people who are elderly or disabled and those who live in rural or deprived areas. I say to the residents of Haddington and the neighbouring villages that I will continue to work with the Post Office and with stakeholders and the community to ensure that they continue to have access to local postal banking services. Those services are vital now, and they will be vital into the future. I look forward to working with the community to make sure that the Post Office does not close that important local resource.
17:20