Lib Dems Pledge Support for the Post Office Card Account

11.49.46am BST (GMT +0100) Thu 17th Jul 2008

Attached Photo shows Cllr Sally Morgan at Pathfinder Village Post Office and Stores.

Devon residents have been contacting local Liberal Democrats to register their concerns over the future of the Post Office Card Account (POCA). The current contract runs out in 2010 and the Government will soon choose a successor, prompting fears that the Post Office will not be awarded the new contract.

POCA earns the Post Office £200 million a year and many feel that without that income thousands of branches are unlikely to survive, the worst hit being post offices in rural areas and in poorer urban areas.

Cllr Sally Morgan (LibDem Parliamentary Candidate for Central Devon) said that: "I and my Lib Dem colleagues believe the Government's priority should be protecting the long term viability of the Post Office and avoiding yet more closures, but their track record does not give much cause for hope. In recent years, TV licence payments have gone, post offices have not been allowed to extend their involvement in delivering passport services and people are being encouraged to use channels other than the post office for renewing a driving licence.

Only the Post Office has the network to allow people from all over the country to access a card account of this kind, and currently 4.3 million people across the country do just that. Other competitors have good coverage in urban areas but not in more rural places and I am concerned about the potential effect on Devon constituents. I can assure them that I will continue to speak up for the Post Office Network."