Welcome for Whitehall lifeline to stave off post office closures

摘要

Council leaders have welcomed a government lifeline in their battle to save local post offices from the threat of closure. Business secretary, John Hutton, has told Post Office Limited to negotiate directly with local authorities which are campaigning to protect some of the 2,500 branches that have been earmarked for closure. Essex CC leader, Lord Han-ningfield, has been at the forefront of moves to explore a new business model for post offices which might include a mixture of council and pharmaceutical services, which has attracted widespread interest.