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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps his Department is taking to maintain the existing number of operating branches in the Post Office network.

The Government is committed to a UK-wide network of post offices, which is why we have set the national access criteria. These criteria, for instance, require that nationally, ninety per cent (90%) of the UK population are within one mile of the nearest Post Office Branch and that nationally, ninety-nine per cent (99%) of the UK population are within three (3) miles of the nearest Post Office Branch.

Whilst the Post Office branch numbers can fluctuate between areas and regions, the Post Office works hard with communities to ensure that service is maintained and this can include solutions such as mobile or other types of outreach services where necessary.

In the Government's Spending Review it was announced that we will be investing £227m in the Post Office in 2021/22. This reflects our commitment to the role that post offices play across our communities.