29 September 2006
The charity Age Concern is heading a new campaign to save rural post offices from closure.
It is calling on the government to renew the 8,000-strong network's £150m-a-year subsidy, which is due to expire at the end of March 2008.
Age Concern director general Gordon Lishman said: 'If it fails to renew the subsidy, thousands of post offices could be forced to close down and thousands more vulnerable older people could be cut off from their local community. The government must consider social as well as commercial factors.'
A poll for the charity showed that 99% of older people in rural areas see their local post office as a 'lifeline', using it to collect benefits, pay bills, get advice and to socialise.
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