A Cumbrian MP has signed a cross-party letter calling for an end to part-time Post Offices.
Simon Fell, the MP for Barrow and Furness, has signed a cross-party letter calling on the Government, and the Post Office Limited to work together to end the practice of temporary Post Office closures.
In the letter, drafted by the Member of Parliament for Motherwell and Wishaw, signed by more than ninety Parliamentarians from all parties, it is suggested that one in three rural post offices in Britain are now provided as part-time outreaches.
The group claim that these rural services are open for an average of just five and a half hours a week, although can be as little as just one hour.
Furness has seen numerous post offices be at risk of closure, or close altogether in recent months.
Working together with local councillors in Ormsgill, Mr Fell helped to bring a branch Post Office to Ormsgill after the long-serving Post Office closed on Middlefield.
Kirkby-in-Furness Post Office has recently closed, and the MP is hoping to bring a similar set-up there.
Mr Fell said: “When a Post Office leaves a community, it leaves that community without many vital services.
“That is why I’ve signed a cross-party letter to call on the Post Office Ltd, and the Government to take action to end the practice of long-term temporary closures of Post Offices.
“Communities like Ormsgill and Kirkby rely on their Post Office, and we must do everything we can to end the temporary closures of Post Offices across the UK.”
