PRESS STATEMENT – PRESS STATEMENT – PRESS STATEMENT

IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SDLP MLA BURNS: OPPOSED TO PARKHALL POST OFFICE CLOSURE
 

South Antrim Assembly Member Thomas Burns has said post offices are ‘a lifeline’ for many people, especially the vulnerable, and closures should be opposed. He was speaking after the Assembly debated the topic on Monday afternoon. 

Mr Burns stated, “For as long as I can remember, post offices have been an integral part of the community. For many people, post offices are a lifeline. They provide essential services in a way that cannot be provided by bigger commercial organisations. But most importantly, for elderly and vulnerable people, post offices provide a very personal service. Post office staff know the names of their customers. They know who is well and who is unwell. They know their circumstances. That is important when it comes to benefits related banking services. Post offices provide services in a way that banks can not. Banks don't want to provide services to people in the way post offices do. People on benefits are not of interest to the banks for reasons that are obvious.

“In my own constituency, the announced closure of post offices in both rural and urban centres will cause real problems for the most vulnerable in our society.

“The suggested closure of the award winning Parkhall post office has obviously been greeted with considerable consternation. How can a post office that has won awards for customer service and retail performance be viewed as a liability to the Post Office network?”

“This Assembly should send a strong signal to the British Government that the post office network is a means of ensuring social inclusion, they are a vital part of the infrastructure necessary for reduction of poverty and exclusion. Social disadvantage and the social and economic impact of closure should be taken into account when deciding where post offices should be located, and in deciding which post offices should be closed.”

ENDS