"Inexplicable" lack of progress on Council plan to support POs

11.01.01am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 26th Jun 2008

Councillor Caroline Roberts

Bath and North East Somerset's Conservative-run Cabinet has made little progress on its pledge to support the area's remaining Post Offices according to the response to a question tabled by a Liberal Democrat Councillor.

Councillor Caroline Roberts (Liberal Democrat, Newbridge) tabled the question to follow up on suggestions in the press that the Council was looking into installing Council pay/information points in Post Offices. Councillor Roberts said:

"The Government has said that the current round of Post Office closures will not be the last, so it is essential that we find ways to help make the remaining Post Offices viable.

"The Cabinet said that there would be an 'urgent feasibility report' on putting Council payment and information devices into Post Offices - they announced this to the press at the beginning of March, but we have heard nothing in the meantime and now we hear there is only a 'draft report'. Four months to get to a draft report stage does not seem 'urgent' to me and this report is not even listed in the executive forward plan.

"In Bath, we have been lucky enough to save the Lower Weston Post Office and the Bear Flat Post Office, but now the Southgate branch is under threat and we know there could be more closures in the future. It's inexplicable for the Council to be dragging their feet on this issue."

Notes:

Text of the question: "What progress has been made in the Council's investigations into ways it can improve the viability of the district's remaining Post Offices by making Council services accessible through Post Offices?"

Answer: "A report has already been prepared and is just about to go forward for Cabinet consideration as a single Member decision for the Leader, Francine Haeberling, and the portfolio holder for resources, Malcolm Hanney.

"The report will consider actions already taken, work that can be done at a community level to support Post Offices and the opportunities to make any links with Council Connect."

In a supplementary question, Councillor Roberts asked whether the Leader of Council considered a four month delay to constitute 'urgent' action and asked why this report was not in the forward plan. The only response was that the report was draft and would be put on the forward plan later this week - reports which have not been drafted are usually included in the forward plan several months in advance.