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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, if he will enable Post Offices that make a profit to remain as a Crown post office rather than being franchised.

The Post Office has commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. The decision whether to franchise a Crown post office is an operational matter of commercial judgement for the Post Office.

There are over 11,300 branches (almost 98% of the total network) already operating successfully on a franchise or agency basis. Franchising is part of the Post Office’s modernisation programme designed to improve customer experience while putting the network on a sustainable footing and reducing the burden to the taxpayer. This helped Crown branches move from a £46 million loss in 2012 to a break even today.