POST OFFICE CARD ACCOUNT SAVED

5.02.04pm GMT Thu 13th Nov 2008

A hard fought campaign by local people has helped save Cornish Post Offices from the threat of further closures. Ministers have announced that the Post Office will keep the contract for the Post Office Card Account.

The Card Account contract is worth £1 billion over five years to local post offices. There had been fears the contract would be lost to private sector competition.

The loss of the Card Account contract could have resulted in the closure of a further 3000 Post Offices nationwide, alongside the 2500 closures that have already been approved by the Government this year. Any closures would have included branches in the most rural parts of Cornwall .

The Post Office Card Account provides a vital service for 4.3 million people throughout the country. Thousands of people in rural Cornwall rely on the service at their local Post Office branch to collect pensions and benefits.

Matthew Taylor, MP for Truro and St. Austell said:

"The Minister's announcement today that the Post Office will keep the Card Account contract is a victory to those local people who have campaigned hard against the contract change. Our efforts have ensured that this vital service wasn't lost and that Cornwall 's already ravaged Post Office network isn't faced with yet more closures.

"The Post Office Card Account provides a crucial service for local people in rural communities. For many the local Post Office branch is the only place they can easily collect their pensions and benefits. The end of this service and the closure of more Post Offices would have been devastating for rural Cornish communities."

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for St Austell & Newquay, Stephen Gilbert added:

"The Government should never have put the future of the Post Office Card Account in question. The reality is that many vulnerable people look to the post office to access vital services. Rather than finding new ways to undermine the post office network the Government should have been using some imagination and putting in new services to attract more customers."