Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many post offices have been closed in England as a result of being assessed as not commercially viable since 2018.

The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK and remains committed to the long-term sustainability of the network.

Overall post office branch numbers are published yearly by the Post Office in their Network Report and Government, via UK Government Investments, monitors network numbers regularly. The report for 2018/19 can be found at http://corporate.postoffice.co.uk/media/46607/networkreport2019_final_190210.pdf.

Changes to the Post Office network can and do happen, often for reasons beyond the Post Office’s control, for instance a postmaster retirement. When this happens, the Post Office will try to restore services as soon as possible by putting in place temporary arrangements or working hard to find an alternative location.