POST OFFICES VITAL TO PROMOTE FINANCIAL INCLUSION
SNP Business Spokesperson, Mike Weir MP, has today (Thursday) pointed out that the UK Government are “failing to join the dots” in their policies relating to financial inclusion and the Post Office.
Mr Weir intervened in a debate on financial services for low income families to point out that new schemes from the Post Office were not much good if the offices were closed.
Mr Weir said:
“The Minister praised the new Christmas savings scheme from the post office, but didn’t seem to appreciate that it was not much good to the many people who no longer had access to a local Post Office.
“In very many communities the Post Office is the only place where people can access financial services. While the new Post Office scheme could well be of great interest to many, it will only be of use if they can access it. What good is a scheme designed to take in small weekly amounts if customers cannot easily access the Post Office. In some cases customers in rural areas might have to pay more in transportation costs to get to their nearest post office than the actual amount they are able to save.
“The government need to join the dots in their policies and accept that it is vital to retain local post offices to promote financial inclusion. Their current bunker mentality will result in closed Post Offices and even lower levels of financial inclusion.”