My SNP colleagues and I are at the forefront of the fight in Westminster to protect Scotland’s Post Office Network, particularly as it becomes a crucial part of access to cash. We recognise this is increasingly important due to UK Government inaction on bank branch closures.
The Tories’ failure to act has lost Scotland a third of our bank branches, left our post office network financially unsustainable and put a fifth of our free ATMs on the line.
The SNP have been clear that the UK Government must act now to stop communities becoming cashless when their last bank closes, and we have been pushing to ensure post offices remain viable.
Pressure has led to an increase in the remuneration given to Post Offices for carrying out banking. This raises the rates of payment that Subpostmasters receive for taking personal and business banking deposits, representing a near three-fold increase on prior rates
We are continuing to push to ensure that the Post Office subsidy is not lost and the Post Office network is sustainable when left to pick up the pieces when bank branches close. The UK Government must now go further and commit to a full and independent review of Sub-Postmaster pay.
When Post Offices are left as the only way for customers to carry out basic banking practices, the banks should be required to make provision for “banking hubs” within the local Post Office – making sure that none of Scotland’s communities are abandoned or left cashless