Will your mail spot get the chop?

The closures will only impact the crown branches directly owned by the company and not franchises, which make up 11,500 branches.

Nigel Railton, chair of the Post Office, announced plans to boost the income of the service in 2030 by £250m per year, as part of its five-year ‘Transformation Plan’.

Railton said the need for the changes was due to the lack of profits made in local branches. He noted that, of the locations owned by the Post Office, “nearly half of the branches are not profitable or only make a small profit”.

The review aims to give better pay to postmasters, in the wake of the Horizon scandal, during which hundreds of staff were unfairly sacked and prosecuted for stealing from the Post Office following a technical error with the IT operating system.

Under the new proposals, postmasters will have more power in the running of each location, with £120m potentially paid to them by the end of the plan’s first year.

Postmasters at ‘front and centre’

It hopes to put the postmasters “at the front and centre” of decisions made in each branch by introducing a new council that will discuss matters with Post Office bosses.

Railton said: “The Post Office has a 360-year history of public service and today we want to secure that service for the future by learning from past mistakes and moving forward for the benefit of all postmasters. We can, and will, restore pride in working for a business with a legacy of service, rather than one of scandal.

“The value postmasters deliver in their communities must be reflected in their pockets, and this Transformation Plan provides a route to adding more than £250m annually to total postmaster remuneration by 2030, subject to Government funding.”

Addressing Post Office staff, he added: “Without action, your profitability will continue to drop. Without action, we’ll see a growing reliance on Government subsidy – which we already depend on – just to keep us going.

“Without action, we cannot deliver the change that our postmasters deserve. So: we need to turn a fresh page.”

Elliot Jacobs, postmaster and a non-executive director on the Post Office board, said: “The last few years have been challenging for many retailers and postmasters are no exception. We have faced cost pressures from rising energy prices, increased National Minimum Wage and National Insurance contributions.

“It’s vital that the Post Office embarks on this major Transformation Plan so that we have a sustainable financial future, and one that benefits the thousands of postmasters who work tirelessly day in, day out to support the local people and businesses who rely on us for essential everyday services.”

The larger crown branches targeted by the plans may be franchised to current partners including WHSmith and Tesco.

However, one concern of the changes, which are subject to Government funding, is the potential closure of local sources to withdraw cash for many customers.

Post Office closures have picked up a pace in the last two years, with two branches closing per week at one stage.

‘As tone deaf as it is immoral’

Dave Ward, the Communication Workers Union’s (CWU’s) general secretary, said: “The Post Office is a key part of the national infrastructure. It keeps communities connected, is a [lifeline] to the elderly as well as the most vulnerable in society, and should be the shop front for so many Government services.

“For the company to announce the closure of hundreds of Post Offices hot on the heels of the Horizon scandal is as tone deaf as it is immoral. CWU members are victims of the Horizon scandal – and for them to now fear for their jobs ahead of Christmas is yet another cruel attack.

“While we are in the middle of a Government review of the Post Office’s future, the employer has embarked on its own strategic review. It seems the Post Office has learned no lessons from its chaotic and uncoordinated mistakes of the past.”

Ward added: “We call on the Post Office to immediately halt these planned closures and the attached consultations – which, historically, have been nothing but playing lip service – and engage with the CWU on protecting jobs and services. We also call on the Government to intervene over this shambolic decision.

“Labour has to ensure it does not become the Government that targeted elderly people with the removal of the Winter Fuel Allowance and then saw crucial services they rely on removed.”

The 115 branches potentially impacted by the new plans are: