-
New funding will enable the Post Office to further
modernise its network and bring extra benefits to customers
across the UK, with £2 billion invested since 2010
-
The Post Office has moved into profit for the first
time in 16 years and branch numbers are the most stable they
have been for decades
-
Today 95% of small business customers can access
day-to-day banking services in post offices, improving the
business environment for small and medium-sized firms – a key
part of the government’s Industrial Strategy
The government today (20 December) announced £370 million of
funding to secure the future of the UK’s Post Office network.
Of that funding £210 million will be invested in continuing to
modernise the network so it can continue to provide essential
services and bring additional benefits to its 17 million
customers across the UK, including extending opening hours and
cutting queue times.
A further £160 million will help to protect ‘last shop in the
village’ community branches and ensure everyone continues to have
access to their local branch. Figures published today reveal the
network has grown for the second year running, with 99.7% of
people living within three miles of their local post office and
number of rural branches rising to 6,185.
A key part of the government’s Industrial
Strategy is improving the business environment for our
small and medium-sized firms and the government is delivering on
a manifesto commitment to extend the availability of banking
services to SMEs and families through the Post Office network.
Today 99% of UK personal bank customers and 95% of small business
customers can access day-to-day banking services in branch and
last year the Post Office helped customers carry out 110 million
banking transactions, an average of 200 a minute.
The funding agreement, which will run from April 2018 to March
2021, comes as the Post Office moved into profit in 2017 for the
first time in 16 years, making the business less reliant on
government subsidies.
Business Secretary said:
The Post Office is at the heart of communities across the UK,
with millions of customers and small businesses relying on
their local branch every day to access a wide range of
important services.
With the network at its most stable in decades, this £370m of
government funding will ensure it can continue to modernise and
bring further benefits to customers across the UK.
Paula Vennells, Chief Executive of the Post Office said:
Making a profit for the first time in 16 years is a major
milestone in the Post Office’s journey to a sustainable and
successful business.
We’re fulfilling the promises we have made, and this is
recognised by the government’s further investment in the Post
Office, which will enable us to continue transforming the
business to meet our customers’ changing needs – a
transformation that has already seen us make significant
progress.
We are committed to making the Post Office matter as much
tomorrow as it does today. For over 370 years, the Post Office
has stayed relevant to communities the length and breadth of
the UK by changing and adapting. With the Post Office now
trading at a profit, we are better placed than ever to embrace
the future. By continuing to invest in post offices, in our
digital channels, in support services and - most importantly –
by putting our customers first, I am confident that the Post
Office is absolutely ready to take on the opportunities and
challenges ahead.
Thanks to government investment of more than £2 billion between
2010 and 2018, the Post Office has:
- a stable network of around 11,600 branches
- delivered its first profit in 16 years
- modernised more than 7,500 branches
- protected over 3,000 ‘last shop in the village’ community
branches
- extended opening hours on weekdays and at weekends, adding
almost a million extra opening hours every month
- become the largest Sunday retailer in the UK with more than
4,400 branches open on Sunday
- ensured 93% of people live within 1 mile of their nearest
branch.
The government has also published its response to the Post
Office Network Consultation carried out in November 2016
which helped to inform the scale and nature of today’s funding
announcement.
Notes to Editors
- The Post Office has published its 2016/17 Annual Report,
Financial Statements, and Network Report on its website
