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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the maximum period is that a Post Office can be closed temporarily without the need for any pubic consultation.

The Government requires Post Office to meet national access criteria to ensure proximity to customers. Within that criteria, the provision and location of post offices is the operational responsibility of Post Office Limited.

There are two other Post Office branches located 1 mile away (Purewell Cross Post Office and Stourvale Post Office) from which customers can access a wide range of services until a suitable solution is found. Both branches offer extended opening hours with the Stourvale branch being open from 6am to 11pm, 7 days a week.

The Post Office regrets instances where a post office is forced to close temporarily, however a temporary closure is normally the result of a situation beyond the control of the Post Office. There is no maximum time set to resolve a temporary closure and the time this can take will vary depending on the individual local circumstances in each case. The Post Office continues investigate and explore solutions which will enable it to restore the provision of services to the Christchurch community as soon as possible.