Royal Mail and the Post Office

I will be brief because I know that others wish to participate in the debate. I will not rehearse what has been said, but I congratulate the hon. Member for Argyll and Bute (Mr. Reid) on securing the debate. At least 5,000 sub-post offices have disappeared since 1997. In the Welsh context, we have lost 30 in Cardiff and the south Wales valleys, 19 in Gwent and 13 in mid-Wales, and others will go under the current programme. The Post Office card account concerns everyone in the Chamber. One hopes that its successor will be given to the Post Office. It is estimated that 10 per cent. of the income of sub-postmasters comes from the card account, and the figure rises to 12 per cent. in urban deprived areas. The card account not only gives sub-postmasters and mistresses a transaction fee, but draws people into post offices, thereby encouraging the sales of other products. Although the future of the card account is not clear from 2010, we urge the Government to give some positive signals. The National Federation of SubPostmasters tells us that if the successor to the card account is not given to the Post Office, a further 3,000 post offices will close, and nobody wants that. As we all know, the post office provides an essential service in both urban and rural areas, and I will not repeat what has been said in the two excellent speeches so far. The post office is a focal point for communities. In many areas, 75 per cent. of post offices have a shop or other business attached to them, and they are often the only local place to take out cash. In my home village of Llanuwchllyn, we have one shop, which is also a post office. Without the post office, the shop will disappear. I have a car, as does my wife, and we might well be able to drive 5 miles to the next town, but that might be difficult for others. I am concerned about the future of that post office, which is well used. If we look at the criteria being applied, the first thing that we see is that 99 per cent. of the UK population is to be within 3 miles of a post office. However, there is a sneaky reference at the end to 95 per cent. of the population being within 6 miles of the nearest post office branch. I am not sure which of those criteria will kick in in my home village. We are 5 miles from the nearest town, so if the sneaky criterion at the end applies, we are in trouble; if the one at the top, which everyone thought was the main criterion, applies, we will be fairly comfortable. I would like to know which it will be. I have written to the Post Office to ask, but it has refused so far to reply. What its representatives do not know, however, is that when they come to interview people and do their appraisal, I will be there telling them plainly what I think of them. I hope that the Minister will tell me when the sneaky criterion will apply and when we will apply the 3-mile zone. Briefly, on the Royal Mail, yes, the word ““liberalisation”” was used, but it has been an absolute disaster. That is not because Royal Mail was not efficient; we have had a very good service under the universal service obligation, and we must maintain it at all costs. There have been several changes to working practices, such as the ending of Sunday services, the reduction to one daily delivery and changes to later deliveries. We can live with those things, however, provided that we do not go much further along that route. Postwatch is concerned about the current situation with regard to the universal service obligation. I will not dwell on the issue, because it has been well highlighted by others, but it is the nub of the matter. The universal service obligation must stand; if it does not, there is no question but that it will be disastrous for rural areas.