Government scraps state-backed Post Office Bank
December 8, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Plans to turn the Post Office into a state-backed bank have been scrapped by the government in a move that has left the Communication Workers Union, among many others, furious.
Ministers revealed that the plan to set up a state-backed Post Office ‘People’s Bank’ would cost the government far too much money at a time during which cuts are being made far and wide. With the plan also considered by government officials to be too time consuming, it seems that the decision to shelve the plans is final.
Whilst the National Pensioners’ Convention have announced their belief that the decision from the government is “extremely short-sighted” and one which could put the “future of the post office network in jeopardy”, the government clearly think that time and money is better spent modernising and maintaining the network as a whole whilst extending the banking facility at the Post Office. RBS and NatWest customers will, as a result of this, be able to use the existing network of post offices for banking, with nearly 80% of current accounts set to become accessible there, whilst a funding package worth £1.34 billion over the next four years should allow around 4,000 of the largest post offices in the country to be updated in order to improve the current level of service.
Whether or not the coalition government ends up living to regret the decision to reject the state-backed bank plans a few years down the line remains to be seen but it seems a safe bet that the criticism will continue to be directed their way over the coming weeks.
