Somerset hit by post office 'double whammy'

Local Lib Dem MP David Laws has received information obtained by the House of Commons Library, revealing how the South West & South Wales region is the worst affected by post office closures of any UK region, and that most post office closures have been rural ones.

David Laws MP said:

“ I commissioned this briefing because, although I have long known about the pressures which local sub post offices have been under, this needs to be put into a national context. Post Offices figures from 2000 show that the areas which have shown the highest level of closures have been the rural areas, with the South West being the worst area of the country for post office closures

“ The South West & South Wales region lost 9% of its Post Offices between 1994 and 2000, compared with the UK average of 7%. Perhaps most worryingly, the number of rural post offices in the region slumped from 1749 to 1529, a huge loss of 13% of the total number of sub-post offices.

“ This new analysis shows how our area is suffering disproportionately from the pressures facing post offices. I will therefore continue to press the Government to produce detailed plans to help stem the decline of local sub-post offices. I will also be looking into how this national data can be regularly produced so that we monitor which areas are losing substantial numbers of post offices and are therefore able to act swiftly in response.”

Category: Constituency News