Burstow speaks out for the future of urban post offices and communities

12.00.00am GMT Fri 1st Dec 2006

Paul Burstow, MP for Sutton and Cheam, has written to the Daily Telegraph, commending the newspaper for its campaign to keep sub-post offices open.

In his letter, Mr Burstow draws attention to the crucial role that post offices play in maintaining local communities in suburban as well as rural areas.

Mr Burstow - along with thousands of other supporting the Telegraph's campaign - also wrote to Jim Fitzpatrick, the Minster responsible for Post Offices, demanding that the government reconsider its position on the Post Office Card Account (POCA).

In his letter, Mr Burstow warned that withdrawing the POCA, as the government is planning by 2010, would sound a death knell for post offices in Sutton and Cheam, which are already surviving on small profit margins.

Mr Burstow also expressed his concern that the withdrawal of the POCA would remove a vital service to many elderly and vulnerable people in the constituency. Figures revealed recently by Mr Burstow showed that 2880 people in the area use the POCA to collect pensions or benefit payments.

In his letter to the Daily Telegraph, Mr Burstow wrote:

"I agree that not to renew the POCA is both an ill conceived and highly damaging decision for many post offices."

"The role that rural post offices play within their communities is, of course, pivotal. However, I fear not enough is being done to consider the equally essential role of post offices in suburban areas like ours."

In his letter to Jim Fitzpatrick, Mr Burstow wrote:

"The knock-on effects of the decision not to renew the contract for the Post Office Card Account will be to fail those elderly and vulnerable individuals who rely on the service and to force local post offices to close, ultimately destroying a central element of community life."