The UK’s smallest businesses could be ‘devastated’ by a series of post office closures announced by the government, it has been claimed.
As the government begins to reveal which branches will be getting the chop, small firms’ lobby group the Forum of Private Business (FPB) has warned that many businesses, particularly those in rural areas, will be severely affected by the closures.
The move, which is expected to result in around 2,500 branches closing across the UK, is an attempt to recoup significant financial losses.
“The government’s review of the postal service recognised the important social role that post office branches play within communities,” said the FPB's policy representative, Mathew Goodman.
“Indeed, small firms in the vicinity frequently benefit from the passing trade. Closing these outlets, and the subsequent loss of the services they provide, could be a real body blow for many small businesses unless adequate alternative arrangements are put in place,” he added.
The FPB urged the Post Office to consider other ways of restructuring to avoid such a high number of branch closures, including situating post offices in pubs or providing mobile outreach services, to ensure small businesses can still access the services they need.
Branches for closure are being selected using the government’s ‘national access criteria’, which requires 95% of a postcode district’s population to be within six miles of a post office. The FPB said that while this seemed like a reasonably fair system, it should not be adhered to too rigorously or at the expense of businesses’ needs being met.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2008
