Deal done over post office grants

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/wales/7501574.stm

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Sub-postmasters at branches earmarked for closure in Wales are being told they will not be forced to personally pay back development grants.

A total of £4.1m was paid out over two years to 106 post offices in some of the most deprived areas of Wales.

However, ministers insisted that those branches told they were closing by the Post Office must repay the money.

The Post Office says it has now agreed to set up a contingency fund to cover the costs of repayments.

The Post Office has been carrying out a review of its operations across Britain, as part of the UK government's decision to cut the network of branches by 2,500.

It has seen dozens of post offices earmarked for closure in Wales.

A number of those told they will be axed had also taken advantage of the assembly government's Post Office Development Fund (PODF).

The cash provided grants to branches in some of the poorest parts of Wales, to ensure they continued offering services to their communities.

In October, the Deputy Minister for Regeneration, Leighton Andrews, announced that the assembly government was seeking to recoup those grants from branches forced to close.

However it emerged that the sub-postmasters in those branches faced paying back that cash from their own pockets.

Deal

Announcing the new agreement, Mr Andrews said he was pleased agreement had been reached in in principle with the Post Office for compensation related to repaying PODF grants made toe sub-postmasters, whose offices have been closed or are due to shut.

"Whilst the details of the eligibility criteria for compensation are still to be finalised, I trust this will be considered as good news by sub postmasters," said Mr Andrews.

On Friday, Post Office Ltd confirmed that plans were now being put in place to help those affected.

A spokesperson said there had been "lengthy discussions" with the assembly government and the National Federation of Sub-postmasters, and the grants issue affected a "very small number of sub-postmasters".

The Post Office also said it was committed to working with ministers in the future, when the development fund is reinstated in January 2009.