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BACKGROUND: See the recent news from the LGA: Councils get Green Light to Save Post Offices: Council leaders have today congratulated Minister John Hutton for writing to Post Office Limited to instruct them to enter into negotiations with councils who wish to try and preserve some of the 2,500 that have been earmarked for closure. Councils who have attempted to enter into negotiations have expressed their concern that Post office Limited has been reluctant to get involved in these tasks. The Local Government Association has been pressing for more that 18 months for Ministers to encourage Post Office Limited to join councils in looking for innovative ways to save local branches and help preserve them for the benefit of residents. In the letter from Minister John Hutton to the Managing Director of Post Office Limited he says, “In terms of the potential for local funding arrangement, we have encouraged you to engage with local authorities (or community groups) that wish to step in and fund some continuing service provision where branches are scheduled for closure and where no Outreach service is being provided. In order to protect the sustainability of the broader network, you will need to ensure that all of Post Office Limited’s relevant costs are covered, that there us a commitment for several years and there is not going to be a damaging impact on other Post Offices in the area not scheduled for closure. In addition, any funding will need to be provided from the local authorities’ own budgets.” http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=358217 See also Councils Step in to save post offices: http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=261904 and Momentum Builds to Save Post offices: http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=361781 About 50 Local councils are looking to take over local post offices earmarked for closure: http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=333441 Essex county council is negotiating with Post Office Ltd to take over the contract for running 15 of the 31 branches which have closed in the area. It hopes to have the first of the reopened post offices up and running within a month. The council said it could make a profit by combining postal services with council services and reducing overheads by locating some of the branches in existing council buildings and businesses such as libraries and pubs. It has allocated £1.5m over three years to help each branch move towards becoming financially self-sufficient. Council leader Lord Hanningfield said the scheme underlined the principle of allowing local people and their representatives to run local services. “If the public want post offices then it’s up to us. It’s our job to provide them. Perhaps the government and Post Office Ltd are missing out by cutting a service that the public like. I’ve been in local government a while and this has been the most popular thing I’ve ever been involved with,” he said. Other councils known to be following Essex’s lead include Leeds, West Sussex, Gwynedd, Manchester and Westminster. Post office minister Pat McFadden has said the government would back local councils who want to take over post offices to prevent their closure so long as it did not mean adding to the £150m-ayear subsidy the government is already providing to help prop up the network. LOBBYING YOUR LOCAL AUTHORITY: There might be a council post office development grant to co-locate the post office services in a pub or village hall, but that is hardly the same thing as saving the post office in situ. This might be one of your enquiries. When you make your case to the council you should send them copies of the correspondence you have sent to the PO consultation service and at the same time engage your local MP and send them the same information (Sheila McCann, Network Development Manager, c/o National Consultation Team, FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM ore-mail consultation@postoffice.co.uk) When making your case a post office to be adopted by a local authority you will need to consider the following questions: Refer to the Branch Access Report made by Post Office Limited, regarding access to the nearest alternative Post Office to your community – is this a fair assessment? Ask yourself the following questions: (do the answers support your cause to keep your Post Office/s open?) What are the opening hours of the nearest alternative Post Office/s? How frequently does the bus service operate? At what times of day does the bus service operate? How does this fit with local school hours? Does the bus stop close-by to the Post Office? Is there adequate parking near to the Post Office? If walking routes are included, is there a safe footpath? Would this accommodate pushchairs and wheelchairs? Are there uneven, narrow or steep sections of footpath? Do the suggested alternative Post Offices offer the same or greater range of services available at your local Office? Is the nearest alternative branch capable of serving the anticipated influx of new customers in addition to its existing customers? Does it have enough parking, counter positions, staff, etc? Is single car ownership a factor in your area? If a household has one car it may be used by the main income earner during Post Office opening hours, leaving other household members reliant on public transport / walking access. Are there other services near to or on the same premises as the closing branch which are not available near to the alternative branch? (e.g. ATM, general stores, butcher, bakery, dry cleaners, Parish Council office?) Hopefully, all of this information will assist in providing evidence of need for the service - if the evidence you have collected is good and you have the support of others (eg local MP, strategic partnerships, other advocates to your cause who will help in lobbying etc). CASE STUDIES: A Midlands council is considering stepping in to save some of the 50 post offices threatened with closure in the region. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/politics_show/7336239.stm Coventry Council leaders fight to save Post Office: http://www.coventry.gov.uk/ccm/content/chief-executives-directorate/corp... Post Office Petition Template: http://www.coventry.gov.uk/ccm/cms-service/stream/asset?asset_id=1631525... MPs campaigning to save their post offices: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1582063/The-MPs-campaigning-to-sa... Parish Council planning to adopt a post office: http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/displayNode.jsp?nodeId=144913&command=dis... Thanks to the Essex Rural Partnership for help in answering this question.