After months of dither and delay, the Government today (Thursday) finally caved in to pressure from campaigners and MPs from both sides of the House and re-awarded the contract for the Post Office Card Account to the Post Office.
In a statement to MPs this lunchtime, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions announced that the Government was cancelling their procurement process, which they themselves had established in 2006.
The tender process had been strongly criticised by the Business Select Committee for bringing ‘uncertainty’ to an already deeply demoralised Post Office network. The Federation of Sub-postmasters had said the loss of the card account could have led to a further 3,000 branch closures across the country, many of them in rural areas.
Commenting on the Government’s decision, Steve Brine, prospective Conservative parliamentary candidate for Winchester, said; “This is disarray dressed up as decision. This process has been deeply destabilising for our local post offices and a waste of time for everyone else. If the Government is cancelling the tender, why on earth did they set up a competition in the first place?
“I have spoken to the majority of our sub postmasters since the decision came through and I know they as well as the communities they serve in the Winchester area will be breathing a heavy sigh of relief that the Card Account has been re-awarded to the post office. This is a triumph for everyone who saw the threat posed by the loss of the card account and once again stood up for this area.”
Steve Brine has consistently this year (2008) called on Government to give local Post Offices branches a chance of survival in the long-term. See the campaign pages here.
Pictured; Steve with Cllr George Beckett of WCC and the late Miss Lawrence of St Cross who was an ardent and passionate campaigner in support of Winchester's remaining Post Offices.