28 Jan 2000
Scottish Secretary John Reid today said that guaranteed daily Monday to Saturday deliveries at a uniform tariff would be just one of the benefits that Post Office customers in Scotland would gain under new proposals set out in the Government’s Postal Services Bill.
Mr Reid said:
"The Government is determined that people should have the highest standard of public services and that includes the Post Office. This is particularly important in Scotland where the role of the local post office is central to many communities.
"The Postal Services Bill would give the Post Office greater commercial freedom, accelerate the modernisation programme, and offer consumers lower prices.
"Add to this a new Consumer Council for Postal Services and a Scottish Committee charged with ensuring that issues affecting Scottish postal services are properly considered and you can see a real, solid commitment to improving service to customers. The Consumer Council will have specific powers to systematically monitor the level of local services against specified criteria, to ensure everyone has reasonable access to Post Office Counters Services.
"I know that there has been a lot of concern about the potential impact on local post offices – of which there are over 1,900 in Scotland – with the proposed move to introduce Automated Credit Transfers for Benefits payments from 2003. Don’t worry - people will still be able to collect their benefits in cash if they wish. These proposals will increase customer choice, not decrease them."