Post Office Network

Mr. Drew
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether following his December statement post offices have been identified for closure; and what strategy is in place for recommending post offices for closure.

Jim Fitzpatrick
No decisions have been made on individual closures in any particular area of the UK.

Post Office will develop specific proposals for post office closures and other changes to service provision after the national public consultation has ended and Government have reached their final decisions on future strategy for the post office network.

Mr. Davey
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how the £1.7 billion for the Post Office Network announced on 14 December 2006 will be spent, broken down by main budget heading.

Jim Fitzpatrick
The Government intend to provide up to £1.7 billion, subject to state aid clearance, between now and 2011 in support of the post office network.

A detailed breakdown of our funding is not yet available and will be dependent, following the conclusion of Government's national consultation, on how Post Office Ltd. intends to implement the necessary restructuring of the network to meet the framework set by Government's proposals.

Geraldine Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of the number of possible post office closures in (a) Morecambe and Lunesdale and (b) Lancashire which are likely to result from network reduction plans.

Jim Fitzpatrick
No decisions have been made on individual closures in any particular area of the UK.

Post Office Ltd. will develop specific proposals for post office closures and other changes to service provision after the national public consultation has ended and Government have reached their final decisions on future strategy for the post office network.