Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of amending Post Office target access criteria to include (a) distances by road and (b) services provided.

The Government protects the post office network by setting minimum access criteria to ensure that 99% of the UK population lives within three miles of a post office. These criteria ensure that however the network changes, services remain within local reach of all citizens.

​Post Office continue to ensure that at least the three core services of mails, cash and basic banking, and bill payments are provided within a reasonable distance for customers as defined by the Government-set Access Criteria. This ensures that these services remain easily accessible to all customers.