Agenda item

The Chairman thanked Ms Laura Tarling, External Affairs Manager at Post Office Limited, for attending.  Ms Tarling noted that it had been an extraordinary year and that the COVID-19 pandemic had impacted on retailers which had, in turn, impacted on the Post Office. 

Post offices had been deemed to be an essential service during the pandemic and, in the current period of lockdown, 99% of post offices had remained open for business.  However, a small number had been affected by the pandemic resulting in temporary closures and reduced hours, potentially at short notice following staff shortages.  Trade levels had been mixed with some post offices seeing an increase in transactions as more people had been sending parcels and mail, especially over the Christmas period when they had been unable to visit in person.  However, income from travel insurance and foreign currency had not been good following COVID-related restrictions on travel. 

The pandemic had dramatically changed how customers were shopping but had remained positive, supporting and understanding.  In December 2020, there had been £640m of cash withdrawals which had been the highest level of withdrawals ever. 

In the last year, Post Office Limited (PO) had been supporting its post masters to ensure that they were able to provide essential services to the community.  They provided them with PPE and perspex screens and had set up a hardship fund.  They had also provided them with posters to remind customers to wear face coverings, keep 2m apart and regularly wash their hands.  Ms Tarling noted that the post masters in Hillingdon had worked hard to ensure the continued provision of post office services in the Borough and they had done a good job.  26 post offices had remained open across Hillingdon, although some of them may have been disrupted by the need for actions such as deep cleans. 

The Post Office Strategy looked to maintain a network of 11,500 post offices across the UK.  Ms Tarling advised that the PO was not looking to cut services but was instead looking at how it could best serve its communities.  Although there would not be a public consultation, findings from the review would be discussed with the relevant Government department and the findings would then be made public. 

Concern was expressed that post office services were still not available in the Heathrow Villages area and it was queried whether a suitable business had been identified in the area to provide the services.  Ms Tarling noted that Sipson and Harmondsworth were in the area that would be affected if the third runway at Heathrow went ahead.  She noted that businesses would be less likely to invest in starting a post office (or adapting their existing business to include post office services) if there was a possibility that the third runway would go ahead and their future was uncertain. 

Members queried whether there was anything that the Council could do to help identify a business to provide post office services in Heathrow Villages.  It was suggested that a short-term investment could be for as long as five years.  Ms Tarling advised that the PO did want to work with local communities and would welcome any support that the Council could provide.  The provision of services did come at a cost to PO which would be taxpayer funded.  Over the past twelve months, the focus had been on providing support for existing post offices and guaranteeing remuneration or post masters.  As there was currently no funding available for new post offices, consideration was being given to exploring the development of a lower cost model for the future.  Whatever model was used, the identification of someone to run the services with adequate premises and funding would be key. 

RESOLVED:  That the discussion be noted.