Campaign to Save Rural Post Offices

Written by Cllrs Tessa Ward and Chris Wise and published in Local parish newsletter on Wed 18th Oct 2006

More than 10 pages of signatures have been collected at the Sandleigh Post Office in Wootton's Besselsleigh Road for a petition opposing Government plans to scrap card accounts used by pensioners.

The petitions joined many thousands that were taken to Westminster on October 17 as part of a campaign to keep rural post offices throughout the country open.

Margarita Morgan, Sub-postmistress at the Sandleigh Post Office, said she wanted to thank local residents who signed the petitions which were sent to the Federation of Sub-Postmasters.

"Rural post offices are under threat not just because the Government wants to axe the Post Office Card Account (Poca), but also because other post office services, like renewing your TV licence, have already gone, " she said. "Still more services are threatened, like the renewal of your car tax, which can now be done on-line.

"I encourage local residents to continue to use Sandleigh Post Office to renew their car tax as one way of ensuring that their local post office can remain open."

The Government is to decide this Autumn whether to extend its current subsidy of rural post offices.

Well recognised as vital meeting points for local communities, rural post offices continue to offer a range of important services such as access to cash, benefits and information. In particular, they are considered a vital component of helping to prevent ederly people, the heaviest users of these post offices, from becoming more isolated.

In Oxforshire, Age Concern has recently launched a 'Stamped Out?' campaign to encourage people to get involved in the debate and to support their local post office. For more details you can phone Age Concern Oxfordshire on 01235 849 400, visit their office at St Edmund House, 39 West St Helen St in Abingdon, or visit the website:

www.ace.org.uk/stamped_out.asp

The Post Office Card Account (Poca), introduced in 2003, was designed to increase security of payment for pensions and other benefits. However, there are Government plans to dispense with this account by 2010 and encourage Poca users to open bank accounts instead.

"Those who want to axe the Poca are not thinking through how pensioners in villages like Wootton are going to manage without it," Mrs Morgan said. "Some people can't deal with bank accounts and they would therefore have to stick to the green giros which makes them more vulnerable to theft than using a Poca.

"There is an additional risk of theft when the Giro is mailed to residents. This post office handles transactions for Barclays, Lloyds TSB and Co-Op and Alliance & Leiscester, but holders of other bank accounts would have to travel to a town to use them.

"As the range of our services reduces there is a higher risk that a post office like this one would be forced to close."