Helen Goodman, Member of Parliament for Bishop Auckland, has warmly welcomed the Government’s decision to award the new Post Office Card Account (POCA) contract to Post Office Ltd.
The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, James Purnell, announced to the House of Commons that the current procurement process for a new POCA contract will now be cancelled and that customers will continue to be able to access their benefits at the Post Office.
Helen said:
“This is tremendous news. I have received over 800 postcards and letters on this issue, and it is clear that there is real support across the constituency for the POCA remaining with the Post Office.
Post Offices are an integral part of the local community, and I know that all post office customers will be delighted that they will still be able to use their card account at their local branch.
The Government have clearly listened to people’s concerns about the future of the POCA, and have also committed over £1.7 billion to support the post office networkâ€.
Over 4.3 million people currently use the POCA, and the National Federation of Sub Post Masters estimated that the loss of POCA could have led to the closure of over 3,000 branches.
ENDS
