Just days after the Business select committee warned the government that awarding the Post Office Card Account contract to a third party private provider would result in up to 3,000 more post offices closed; the government announced an end to the tender process. In so doing, existing post offices will continue to serve 4.3 million post office card account customers who receive benefits under the system.
Wyre Forest post office campaigner Mark Garnier said of the announcement:
"I am delighted to hear the news. It is a wise decision by the government and this has secured the future of those post offices who escaped the recent cull. It seems the government has listened to public opinion and they have done the right thing."
Under the proposals that the government has now cancelled, Wyre Forest stood to loose a further five local post offices.