Post Office news sparks uncertainty for Inverness city centre branch; company assures Highland customers franchise plan will keep operations within same site ‘or nearby’
The future of Inverness’s city centre Post Office is up in the air after the company announced that all of its remaining “directly managed branches” will be franchised out - and could even move to new sites.
The Post Office currently has 108 in-house branches dotted around the UK, which it operates directly, after franchising out its many other outlets in the past.
The remaining 108 included the branch at 14-18 Queensgate in Inverness city centre.
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But questions began being raised over it and the other 107 sites’ future operations when the Post Office announced plans for a full review of them last autumn - citing what it claimed were multi-million pound costs.
And, following the conclusion of that process, the company today (Tuesday) announced that all 108 sites will be transitioned to a “fully-franchised network” by the autumn of this year.
Making its announcement, the Post Office stressed that following the switch, the public will “continue to be able to access Post Office services either at, or near to, the same location”.
It also stressed that it remains “committed” to current requirements for it to have a minimum of 11,500 branches across the UK.
And it also promised to “work with franchise partners with a clear track record of successfully running Post Office services or similar customer-focused retail to ensure communities in these 108 locations will continue to receive a high quality of service once their Directly Managed branch is franchised.
Further details on its proposals are expected to be shared with local communities and stakeholders for individual branches “in the coming weeks”.
However, the wording of the announcement will likely cause uncertainty for customers and staff in Inverness, who will have been left unsure as to whether Post Office services will remain within the Queensgate site or be transferred to an entirely new or existing Post Office location elsewhere in the local area.
It is also unclear what any changes might mean for job numbers at the various sites or how “near” any new site might be, should the decision be made to relocate.
Nigel Railton, Post Office dhair, said: “Moving to a fully franchised network is one part of enabling the Post Office to deliver a ‘New Deal for Postmasters’, helping to create a long-term, sustainable future for the Post Office. By franchising these branches, we are protecting access to our services for communities right across the UK and realising £40 million worth of savings that will enable us to uplift postmasters’ remuneration by up to 10%.
“Over the coming months, we will continue to work with our unions to ensure that we treat our staff working in these 108 branches with care and respect through this transition, consulting with them on proposed changes.
“The 108 Post Offices will either stay in the same location where possible or be located close to the existing location, meaning customers will continue to have access to a full suite of products and services.”
The Post Office board said that, subject to government funding, the last 108 directly managed branches operated by the Post Office will be franchised by the autumn.
The company claims that its directly managed branches generate a “fully allocated loss (including central and support costs)” of more than £40 million each year.
It added that its wider five-year Transformation Plan to deliver a ‘New Deal for Postmasters’, which is subject to government funding, would increase postmaster remuneration will by an additional £250 million a year by 2030.
