Efforts to turn around the crisis-hit Post Office have been given a £118m funding boost as the government continues to consider a new ownership structure.
Sky News revealed in October last year, as the Horizon IT scandal inquiry neared its conclusion, that a government-commissioned review was to explore the idea of a mutual model.
It would effectively see ownership transferred from the government to sub-postmasters, creating a John Lewis Partnership-style structure, if such an option was to be followed through.
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It’s being considered as a way to return public and postmaster trust to the Post Office.
The options are to be the subject of a 12 week consultation on the organisation’s future.
The new £118m subsidy package was being made available, the Department for Business and Trade said, to fund the transformation plan and further investment.
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“This funding will protect key services, including access to cash deposits and withdrawals as well as key government services, such as passport applications and the DVLA, alongside helping the Post Office deliver cost-saving measures in its Transformation Plan, part of the New Deal for Postmasters”, the statement said.
Post Office minister Gareth Thomas added: “Post Offices continue to be a central part of our high streets and communities across the country.
“However, after 15 years without a proper review, and in the aftermath of the Horizon scandal, it’s clear we need a fresh vision for its future.
“This Green Paper marks the start of an honest conversation about what people want and need from their Post Office in the years ahead.”
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But the general secretary of the Communication Workers Union, Dave Ward, accused the department of lacking sincerity.
He responded: “Successive governments have failed the Post Office, its workers and customers – and choosing to use government subsidies for planned redundancies, closures and so-called transformation plans that are nothing more than managed decline.
“This Labour Government are unashamedly doing exactly the same as the Tories did – managing the politics of the Post Office, prioritising further cost-cutting and offering no vision for its future.”
The update was provided as sub-postmasters await further conclusions from the Horizon IT inquiry.
The first volume, published last week, highlighted the impact of false theft and false accounting accusations made against at least 1,000 postmasters.
It concluded that 13 people may have taken their own lives after being falsely accused of wrongdoing, based on evidence from the IT system that the Post Office and developers Fujitsu knew could be faulty.
At the same time, inquiry chair Sir Wyn Williams recommended further action to improve compensation outcomes amid years of frustration over delays and wrangling over the sums due.
