MP Praises Post Office Card Account Decision - 14/11/2008 |
 Wythenshawe and Sale East MP, Paul Goggins, has welcomed the announcement this week by the Government that the Post Office is to be awarded the Post Office Card Account (POCA) contract for 2010-2015.
Around 10,170 people in Wythenshawe and Sale East have existing POCA accounts.
Welcoming the news Paul Goggins MP thanked local people for campaigning with him on the issue.
Paul Goggins said: “This is great news for local post offices I recently met the Secretary of State, James Purnell, to discuss this issue and I am delighted that the government has listened to what I have been saying on behalf of local people. I would like to thank everyone who stood up for local post offices and made their voices known on this.
“The Government has decided to award a new contract for the continuation of POCA directly to the Post Office. This announcement is good news for the Post Office as the card account is an important source of income and brings customers through the doors of local post offices.
“We have a large number of POCA users in Wythenshawe and Sale East – over 10,000 people – and I know locally people will welcome this as very good news.”
Labour’s Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, James Purnell, paid tribute to Paul Goggins for campaigning on this issue saying:
“I applaud Paul Goggins for standing up for people in Wythenshawe and Sale East and for his local post offices. I know how important post offices are to local communities and this provides real help for these local businesses and their customers in tough times.”
“This is the right decision for Wythenshawe and Sale East residents.”
Notes to Editors:
The Post Office Card Account is a very straightforward account specifically designed to pay benefits administered by the Department for Work and Pensions, the Northern Ireland Social Security Agency, Service Personnel and Veterans Agency and Inland Revenue tax credits.
Only benefits and pensions can be paid in and they are collected across a post office counter using a plastic card and PIN.
About four million people receive their benefits and pensions this way, including around two million pensioners.
The National Federation of Sub Postmasters had claimed that 3,000 post offices might close if post office did not receive the contract.
[This photo is of Paul Goggins MP showing the PIN system for POCA in the Royal Oak Post Office, Baguley, with local subpostmaster Shashikant Merchant and his wife.]
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