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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Post Office 'will keep contract' | Post Office 'will keep contract' |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Three thousand post offices could be saved from closure under plans to be unveiled later by the government. | Three thousand post offices could be saved from closure under plans to be unveiled later by the government. |
| The Guardian says ministers are set to announce that the Post Office can retain its £1bn five-year contract to distribute benefits to 4.3m claimants. | The Guardian says ministers are set to announce that the Post Office can retain its £1bn five-year contract to distribute benefits to 4.3m claimants. |
| The Post Office Card Account faced competition from private firm PayPoint. | The Post Office Card Account faced competition from private firm PayPoint. |
| There is expected to be an announcement later - probably in the form of a House of Commons statement from Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell. | There is expected to be an announcement later - probably in the form of a House of Commons statement from Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell. |
| The National Federation of Sub Post Masters warned that 3,000 post offices would close if the service was taken away. | The National Federation of Sub Post Masters warned that 3,000 post offices would close if the service was taken away. |
| Some 2,500 branches will already have been closed by the government by the end of this year under plans to streamline the network. | Some 2,500 branches will already have been closed by the government by the end of this year under plans to streamline the network. |
| 'Trusted provider' | |
| The Post Office Card Account (POCA), which is used by more than four million people, was designed to do away with the need for giros and payment books for pensioners and benefit claimants, while still allowing them to use Post Offices to collect money. | The Post Office Card Account (POCA), which is used by more than four million people, was designed to do away with the need for giros and payment books for pensioners and benefit claimants, while still allowing them to use Post Offices to collect money. |
| The face-to-face contact which a post office offers is becoming an increasingly important and reassuring factor for many people Lord Mandelson | |
| The government is to make an announcement on the contract two weeks earlier than expected after criticism from MPs that delays in deciding if the Post Office will retain the contract were "destabilising". | |
| The business and enterprise select committee said the longer uncertainty continued, the harder it was for the network to develop long-term plans. | |
| The Conservatives said the delay raised doubts about Labour's support for the network. | |
| But earlier this week, Business Secretary Lord Mandelson urged the prime minister to save the Post Office network by allowing it to provide government services and financial products. | |
| In a Letter to Gordon Brown, leaked to The Guardian, Lord Mandelson says the economic downturn and "recent events in the financial services" could give the network a new lease of life as a "trusted provider of a broader range of financial service". | |
| 'Face-to-face contact' | |
| In the letter, dated 30 October, Lord Mandelson said: "We should examine the prospects for POL [Post Office Ltd] becoming a much more significant player in financial services - offering a wider range of attractive products within easy reach of the whole population, available from an institution they can trust." | |
| He added: "POL has two real strengths. The first is the trusted 'post office' brand. The second is the fact that it offers direct physical contact across its widely accessible network with the 24 million people who visit a post office each week. | |
| "As recent figures show, many savers have demonstrated their trust in the Post Office by moving their savings into accounts it offers. | |
| "Similarly, the face-to-face contact which a post office offers is becoming an increasingly important and reassuring factor for many people - especially when many private companies, as well as many government agencies, are seeking to reduce their own face-to-face contact points." | |
| Lord Mandelson said there was a case for building up the Post Office's role as the main contact point many people had with the government, raising the prospect of it taking on new business. |