The government has announced it will continue to subsidise rural post offices, but is it enough to save them?
Post offices are a vital part of the community. With over 11,500 branches, there are now more post offices than bank and building societies. 9 in 10 people across Great Britain have used a post office in the last year. And 1 in 5 use a post office once a week, increasing to around 1 in 4 people in rural areas. They are one of the few remaining ways people can access essential services face to face. So how they are funded is really important.
In the most rural and remote areas it can be difficult for post offices to break even, let alone make a profit. In recognition of the vital role they play, the government provides a subsidy to help keep them open. This supports roughly 4,000 post offices, including 3,000 rural ‘last shop in the village’ branches. Without the subsidy, the future of many rural branches could be at risk.
Continued government funding is welcome
This week the government announced it will continue to support the most rural post offices. It will provide a subsidy of £50 million a year between now and 2025 — the same amount as currently provided.
This is important for 2 reasons. First, it ends months of uncertainty for many rural post offices that depend on the subsidy to stay open. Second, it protects access to services for those who rely on these branches the most. Such as older people, disabled people and small businesses.
But there are still significant cracks in the network
Although this is good news, it might not be enough. The post office network faces significant problems, particularly growing cracks in rural areas.
There’s been an extraordinary rise in the number of part-time outreach services. This is where a postmaster from a permanent branch provides a part-time service. 1 in 3 rural post offices in Britain are now provided as part-time outreach services. These services are open for an average of 5.5 hours a week, but some are open for as little as 1 hour a week.
Communities bear the brunt of reduced services and post office closures
Reduced services have a practical, financial, social, and emotional impact on communities.
Many we spoke to talked about the difficulty and stress of planning ahead when they didn’t have to before. The extra time, cost, and greater dependence on others to get to another branch. And the loss of a unique social and community hub. For most people, outreach services simply aren’t filling the gaps.
“I don’t like to keep asking. I want to be independent and do it on my own. My mum’s like 72, and my sister’s got 3 kids. Although they never ever would complain because they feel terrible that I can’t drive, it’s just another thing they have to do for me.” Female, aged 35–54, South West England
‘We have no banks here so we relied on the service of the old post office… [The outreach post office] doesn’t fit in with our timescale. You want to have the flexibility of a post office, 5 or 6 days a week.’ Small business owner, West Midlands
We’ll continue to work with stakeholders to develop solutions
This week’s announcement will help to relieve some of the pressure on the post office network. But, post offices are still facing rising costs. As inflation, National Insurance and minimum wage increase, they’re set to feel the effect. By not increasing the subsidy to reflect these costs,the gaps in the network are likely to continue to grow.
This risks undermining the important and varied roles rural post offices play in communities across the country.
As the consumer watchdog for post offices, we’ll continue making the case for more support. We want to ensure communities across the country continue to have convenient access to a post office branch.
