Pressure for U-Turn on Council's Post Office Charge Grows (North Bedfordshire Liberal Democrats)

North Bedfordshire Liberal Democrats <bedford@bedfordlibdems.org>

Pressure for U-Turn on Council's Post Office Charge Grows

July 31, 2008 6:18 PM

With communities across Bedford Borough battling to save their local post office, Bedford Borough Lib Dems have repeated their calls for the unjust charge on the payment of council tax at the post office to be scrapped

With local communities across Bedford Borough fighting to save their local post office, pressure is mounting on Bedford Borough Council to remove the charge on the payment of council tax bills at the post office. The charge was introduced in April 2006 in the face of fierce opposition from the Liberal Democrat Group. Each of the other political groups supported the charge, however, and its introduction has been extremely damaging for local post offices.

Branches have seen fewer customers as a result, while those who continue to use the post office face an additional charge of £2.35 each time they pay their monthly council tax bill. The council continues to cover the transaction costs of all other methods of payment, which remain free.

The Lib Dems have campaigned for the removal of the charge since its introduction, and the pressure on the Council to back down over the charge grew following a public meeting in Bedford last week on the proposed local post office closures. During the meeting, the Bedford Borough Conservative Group Leader Cllr Nicky Attenborough signalled a possible Tory u-turn on the issue, while the Council's Director of Finance confirmed that the decision would be revisited if there was political will to do so.

Commenting, Bedford Borough Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Dave Hodgson said: "It's time to stamp out this unfair charge once and for all. It is effectively an extra council tax of nearly £25 per year on those people who use the post office to pay their council tax bill. These people include some of the most vulnerable in our local communities including pensioners, those with mobility problems and those without access to full banking facilities. Just like with the Labour Government's post office closures, the people hardest hit by the council's indefensible policy are those who are already amongst the most disadvantaged in society.'

"In addition to the gross unfairness of charging people for using the post office, the council's policy has been extremely damaging for local branches. The council should be supporting local branches, but instead it is discouraging people from using them. Figures from before and after the start of the charge showed that a massive 70 per cent fewer customers visited the post office to pay their council tax bill following its introduction.'

"I hope the Tories really are preparing to perform a u-turn on this issue. Conservative and Labour Councillors should never have supported the introduction of this unfair charge. At a time when local post office branches need all the support they can get, both the Tories and Labour must swallow their pride and admit they were wrong on this important issue."

The Liberal Democrat Campaign to Save Bedford's Post Offices continues. Please visit the website here: www.savebedfordspostoffices.org.uk

For details of the proposals for the closure of seven local post office branches in Bedford Borough and for details of how to respond to the consultation prior to the closing date of August 26th, see the links below.