The NFSP warned ministers that if the post office network is to remain at its current 12,000 outlets, they must deliver on their promise to transform post offices into “the front office for government”; and that future tenders for government services must take into account the network’s unique geographical reach, high level of public trust and specialised, trained staffing.
The contract for the benefits cheque service (known as Green Giros or the Exceptions Service), which allows around 350,000 vulnerable citizens to receive pensions and benefit payments by cashing a cheque at their local post office each week, has been at the Post Office since its inception 43 years ago and is worth £20m a year. The government’s decision to award the contract to Paypoint at what the NFSP believes to be a below cost price raises fears among subpostmasters on the future of other benefits payment services such as the Post Office card account (POCA), used by almost four million customers every week.
NFSP General Secretary George Thomson said: “This is a bitterly disappointing decision from the government. Benefits cheque customers rely on their local post office to provide this important service, with subpostmasters and trained Post Office staff providing assistance to hundreds of thousands of vulnerable customers each week. Many of these customers will be unwilling or unable to travel to a Paypoint outlet such as an off-licence or garage forecourt to claim their weekly pension or benefit allowance.”
“Furthermore, we are unconvinced that Paypoint will be able to deliver this important and complex service. The company hasn’t consulted with its agents on their ability or willingness to provide the service. Instead Paypoint continues to force a race to the bottom, making below cost bids for contracts by driving down rates paid to their agents ever further.
“The post office network is the ideal channel for the public to access all forms of local and central government information, verification and payments, due to its trusted presence at the heart of local communities across the UK. The government has recognised this enormous potential by committing to make the network its “front office”. However, we must be clear that if we are to maintain a network of 12,000 Post Office outlets, subpostmasters need significant volumes of work in order to survive, including regular repeat transactions such as benefits payments. Ministers have to deliver new government work to post offices, not more broken promises. As the government plans to remove Post Office Ltd (POL) from Royal Mail Group and make it a stand-alone company, this imperative is even greater.
“If the government is serious about maintaining a national network of post offices, it must ensure that all future tenders for government services take account of the full range of factors alongside cost. The Post Office provides guaranteed availability of cash through its comprehensive infrastructure; unrivalled local access; and trained, trusted staff able to undertake specialist transactions in a safe, secure and professional environment. We would hope and expect that all future government tenders will include a strong focus on these important values.
“I warn the government that neither subpostmasters nor Post Office customers will tolerate any further moves to withdraw vital services from our counters, including the POCA. In 2008, a campaign backed by 4.5 million people succeeded in forcing the government to back down on plans to remove the POCA contract from the Post Office, and we will work again to make sure that the contract continues beyond 2016.”
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