Labour accused of hiding bad Post Office news

Published on Saturday 1 November 2008 18:51

THE Labour Government has been accused of deliberately delaying announcing a decision that will lead to the closure of 700 of Scotland's 1,120 Post Offices to avoid bad publicity in the run-up to the Glenrothes by-election.

Scotland on Sunday understands that the Post Office is poised to lose its hold on the Government's Post Office Card Account, which provides an easy method for people to collect pensions and benefits from local branches.

The contract, which generates crucial business for Post Office branches, is up for renewal in 2010 and the successful bidder was expected to be named in the summer.

It was then delayed until October, but the decision is still not forthcoming.

"I believe the bad news could be being deliberately held back because of the Glenrothes by-election," said Mervyn Jones, a sub-postmaster at Sandbed, near Hawick, and the president of the National Federation of Sub-Post Officers. "We think 700 out of 1,120 Post Offices in Scotland are at risk."

The potential closures have proved troublesome for Labour in Glenrothes, with candidate Lindsay Roy appearing poorly briefed on the issue. Maurice Golden, the Tory candidate, said: "On a televised hustings, the Labour candidate, Lindsay Roy said he didn't know what a card account was. Over four million people use the card account to collect their pensions and benefits."

A Department of Works and Pension spokesman said: "We will make an announcement in the coming weeks."