CAB warns Post Office hit-list could damage local communities
23 Oct 2007
PRESS RELEASE
Scotland’s frontline Citizens Advice Bureaux are warning that plans to axe local post offices, to be unveiled today, could see pensioners, disabled people and those on low incomes struggle to access essential services.
The warning comes as the Post Office announces the first areas in Scotland where local branches have been pencilled in for closure.
The communities affected - along with campaigning groups like the CAB service – now have six weeks to make a case as to why their local service should be spared. The first branch offices could be shut as early as January 2008.
The first plan of proposed closures covers post offices in the parliamentary constituencies of Argyll & Bute, Falkirk, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow Central, Glasgow North, Glasgow North West, Glasgow East, Glasgow South West, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire.
Five more area plans in Scotland will be unveiled over the next few months. In total, up to 2,500 post offices could be closed throughout the UK over the next 18 months as part of the controversial programme.
“While we accept that some closures are inevitable, post offices are an absolute lifeline in many rural and deprived urban areas,” insisted Kaliani Lyle, chief executive of bureaux umbrella body Citizens Advice Scotland. “The key question now is how essential services will be provided to those who need them most.”
CAS has issued local action toolkits to its member bureaux to press for solutions that meet the needs of communities and vulnerable groups. Meanwhile, the Post Office Ltd has agreed to invite bureaux to submit upfront comments on each of the area plans for Scotland.
“Citizens Advice Bureaux in each area will gauge the local mood,” explained Ms Lyle. “They will consider whether there is evidence suggesting a proposed closure would have too high a detrimental impact on the local community.
“The Post Office Ltd has acknowledged the important social and economic role played by branches. It has asked bureaux to comment on factors such as the availability of alternative banking and payment facilities locally, pockets of deprivation and clusters of elderly or disabled clients, areas which lack adequate public transport, and the likely economic impact of closures in an area.
“Citizens Advice Bureaux are strong supporters of local post offices since a large proportion of our clients rely on their local branch for a range of essential transactions, such as gaining access to their cash, paying bills and sending mail.”
In a CAB survey undertaken earlier this year, more than 90 per cent of people throughout the UK said they would be personally affected if their local post office were to close, and three-quarters said their community would be significantly affected.
Almost a third of the 1,000 people surveyed said they visited a post office several times a week - a figure rising to half of those aged over 65 and 47 per cent of those on means-tested benefits. More than 60 per cent of those aged over 75 and those depending on means-tested benefits used the post office to pay bills, while 67 per cent of those living in rural areas relied on it to buy groceries.
Asked what people particularly value about local post offices, almost everyone mentioned the convenient location. At present, 85 per cent of respondents can reach their local post office within ten minutes - but 63 per cent of Scots surveyed said it would take 30 minutes to travel to another branch while 36 per cent said it would take longer. Only seven per cent of Scots say they would be able to continue to walk to their next nearest branch.
Ms Lyle said: “The high response rate we got for our survey shows the real concern about this issue. It is important that bodies that have extensive local knowledge and are intimately acquainted with the issues faced by local people - particularly the more disadvantaged members of the community - are given the opportunity to put forward their case.
“That’s why we welcome this move by the Post Office Ltd to involve Citizens Advice Bureaux in the consultation period.”
Notes for News Editors
- Each CAB is an independent charity, run by a committee of local people, and responsible for raising its own funding.
- Around 80 per cent of CAB workers are trained volunteers – if you’d like to help your local community for just a few hours each week, contact your local bureau manager, or volunteer through the CAS website – www.cas.org.uk
- The first bureaux in Scotland were established in 1939 as a wartime information service. There are now 76 CAB offices across Scotland, which operate from over 200 service points, and which form the country’s largest independent advice network.
- CAB advice services aim to be freely available and accessible to everyone in the community.
- Consumer debt is now the single biggest issue that CABx deal with. Last year, CABx in Scotland dealt with debt totalling over £211m.
- Images and logos of the CAB service are available from the CAS press and communications officer (see contact above).
- Practical and up-to-date information is available online from Adviceguide (www.adviceguide.org.uk), including factsheets you can print off.
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