UKIP: The post office charade

Blog Bot · 09-04-2008, 05:40 PM

From the official website:

Calls by government ministers to maintain the Post Office network have been dismissed as hypocrisy by UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage.

More...

Anthony Butcher · 09-04-2008, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Calls by government ministers to maintain the Post Office network have been dismissed as "hypocrisy" by UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage.
"All this is absolute nonsense," he said. "The reason why 2,500 post offices are closing is because that was the agreement between EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes and Foreign Secretary David Miliband.

"In November 2007 the Commissioner wrote that Post Offices Ltd must reduce the size of its network by about 2,500 branches. On that basis the government received approval to continue subsidising the rest of the network.

"This is a done deal between our government and the EU. It is sheer hypocrisy for politicians who have voted for the closures to scramble back to their own constituencies and campaign on behalf of their local post office. It cannot be done. The breaking up of the Royal Mail monopoly was ordered by Brussels and it is Brussels that has told the government that they can't give subsidies to the existing network.”

The MEP added: "This is the trouble with this government: it has taken us into political union with Europe but keeps trying to hide the fact from the British public. It is just a huge campaign of deceit and disinformation.

"Let nobody be fooled. Nearly 2,500 post offices WILL be closed because we have an obligation to do so.

"Frankly, this charade that we can do something about the post offices closing is one that our mainstream media and broadcasters have been all too happy to play along with."

A good statement. I don't imagine that it will win many friends in the media though.

C_steam · 09-04-2008, 07:18 PM

Quote:

"In November 2007 the Commissioner wrote that Post Offices Ltd must reduce the size of its network by about 2,500 branches. On that basis the government received approval to continue subsidising the rest of the network.

"This is a done deal between our government and the EU.

Is there an evidence trail?

chikrodah · 09-04-2008, 07:29 PM

Buried in the supporting documentation for this press release, no doubt: EUROPA - Rapid - Press Releases

Quote:

IP/07/1805

Brussels, 29th November 2007

State aid: Commission approves €884million public funding plus continued loan facilities for Post Office Ltd

The European Commission has authorised, under the EC Treaty’s rules on state aid, £634million (€884million) of public funding for the UK's network of post offices Post Office Ltd over the three years starting 1 April 2008. In addition it has authorised the continuation, over the same period, of existing loan facilities which allow the network to fund the provision of cash services at post office counters. The post office network is entrusted with important public service tasks and the Commission is satisfied that the requirements of the Community framework for state aid in the form of public service compensation are met.

EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said: “I am very aware of the importance of the post office network and of the services which it provides. This aid will enable the network to continue to provide those services under the new terms defined by the UK Government".

Post Office Limited is a subsidiary of Royal Mail, the UK's main postal services provider which is entirely state-owned. Post Office Limited operates the network of around 14 000 post offices throughout the UK. The large majority of these are separate businesses operated under agency contracts by sub-postmasters. The network provides a range of public services on behalf of government departments and private undertakings, such as basic cash facilities, bill payment, licensing etc, as well as access to the universal postal service provided by Royal Mail. In addition, the network provides a small but growing range of commercial services including lottery tickets, foreign exchange, telephony and insurance products.

In July 2007 the UK notified a series of measures in favour of Post Office Limited to take effect between 1 April 2008 and 31 March 2011. They include £150 million (€209 million) per year to cover the specific costs of operating the parts of the network which are inherently loss-making. A similar measure was approved in 2006 for two years (see IP/06/225). Certain additional funding included in the financial year 2008/2009 reflects certain specific costs to arise that year, including costs for the closure of some post offices as part of a transformation programme announced by the UK Government in December 2006. The loan facility between the UK Government and Post Office Limited provides funding up to a limit of £1.15billion (€1.6billion), allowing Post Office Limited to finance the provision of basic cash services by post offices, in particular to more vulnerable groups in society. This measure was originally authorised in 2003 (see IP/03/757).

Under the Community framework for state aid in the form of public service compensation, it is for the Member States to define the public service – in this case, the size of the post office network and the services it should provide – which they wish to entrust to an undertaking. The role of the Commission is to check that the compensation provided for carrying out the public service task does not exceed the additional costs of providing these services.

On 21 February 2007 the Commission opened a formal investigation procedure concerning funding arrangements for Royal Mail (see IP/07/226), totalling more than £2.5 billion. That investigation is still continuing. The measures authorised today are separate and concern only the compensation of costs specifically incurred by Post Office Limited.

The non-confidential version of today's decision will be made available under the case number N 388/2007 in the State aid Register on the DG Competition website once any confidentiality issues have been resolved. New publications of state aid decisions on the internet and in the Official Journal are listed in the State Aid Weekly e-News.

chikrodah · 09-04-2008, 07:43 PM

http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/st...07/n388-07.pdf

marcus · 09-04-2008, 09:01 PM

This is an issue which needs to be jumped on by UKIP. If we can blow the whistle on it for the public it could get us some real media exposure as UKIP. Post Office closures will annoy alot of people and will also expose the EU problems to alot of people.

chikrodah · 09-04-2008, 09:51 PM

You need to get in touch with Trevor Coleman. He's got a cunning plan to encourage parish polls on post office closures, tying it into the EU directives.

09-04-2008, 05:40 PM	#1 (permalink)
Blog Bot Uber Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 3,030	UKIP: The post office charade From the official website: Calls by government ministers to maintain the Post Office network have been dismissed as hypocrisy by UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage. More...

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09-04-2008, 07:43 PM	#5 (permalink)
chikrodah Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Midlands Posts: 1,872	http://ec.europa.eu/community_law/st...07/n388-07.pdf

09-04-2008, 09:01 PM	#6 (permalink)
marcus Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 203	This is an issue which needs to be jumped on by UKIP. If we can blow the whistle on it for the public it could get us some real media exposure as UKIP. Post Office closures will annoy alot of people and will also expose the EU problems to alot of people.

09-04-2008, 09:51 PM	#7 (permalink)
chikrodah Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Midlands Posts: 1,872	You need to get in touch with Trevor Coleman. He's got a cunning plan to encourage parish polls on post office closures, tying it into the EU directives.