Citizens Advice has warned of a wave of post office closures across the country as it found that 206 post offices have closed in the last two years, the equivalent of two closing each week.
A new analysis of Post Office data by the consumer watchdog has also revealed that 1,291 post offices are currently deemed ‘temporarily closed’, but almost six in ten of these have been shut for more than two years.
In addition, one in three rural post offices are now offered as part-time outreach services, open for an average of just five and a half hours a week. Thirteen percent (totalling 233) of outreaches are open for only one hour a week, and one outreach the charity found was only open for ten minutes a week.
Citizens Advice said this has led to huge gaps in the service, adding that people have reported to the charity that they now spend more time and money accessing post office services, feel a loss of independence, and even increased isolation since their local office was shut.
“Post offices sit at the centre of our communities. But they’re at breaking point. We’re currently losing two post offices a week, and outreach services often aren’t an adequate replacement,” Clare Moriarty, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said.
Research undertaken by Citizens Advice found that certain groups are more reliant on post office services than others. Despite closures, when asked, 18 per cent of people said they still visited their post office weekly. This increased to 23 per cent of those living in rural areas, 27 per cent of carers, 22 per cent of over 65s, and 21 per cent of disabled people.
Moriarty asked Post Office to increase the investment in rural locations to make sure communities across the country maintain connection to vital services.
“Maintaining post office investment is crucial or the service will never keep pace with the needs of the communities it’s intended to serve,” she added.
Post Office, however, responded that the report does not “accurately reflects” its network of 11,500 post offices “that has been stable for a decade.”
“Whilst banks and traditional retailers have reduced their presence on the high street and in towns and villages, Post Office is sustaining and strengthening its network across the UK,” a Post Office spokesperson said, adding that it opened over 200 branches in 2019 alone and responded to the pandemic with the fastest net growth in the network for decades, with net growth of 181 branches from the end of March to December 2021.
“Sometimes branches do close, for example if a postmaster has decided to retire after many decades of service. We are grateful to nearby postmasters who step up to help and will always seek to find a permanent replacement whilst the original branch is recorded as temporarily closed,” the spokesperson said.
“In many locations, an existing nearby Post Office or another new branch will open to serve that community and meet the access criteria; with 99 per cent of the public living within three miles of a Post Office and 90 per cent within one mile.”
Noting that some of the branches, including many outreach post offices, are supported by a dedicated subsidy from the government, the spokesperson said the government needs to step up the support to ensure a sufficient service for the number of customers in those communities.
“The costs of operating the network are not fixed, and the government should reflect this in determining the appropriate level of subsidy if it wishes to maintain current levels of service and accessibility,” the spokesperson said.
