Double whammy of Council cuts hit pensioners and post offices

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Fri 2nd Apr 2004

Hidden in the detail of cuts made by the South Hams District Council this year is the decision not to pay the cost of Council Tax payments made through local post offices. In future those who choose this method of payment will be subject to a counter fee set by each post office. This could be as much as £1-45 per transaction which, for the usual 10 payments per year, can mean an extra annual cost of up to £14-50. Speaking about this decision Totnes Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Spokesperson, Mike Treleaven said:

'This is a double whammy - not only are people going to have to use an alternative payment method to avoid these charges, post offices are going to suffer from yet another reduction in the use of their services. It is the elderly and less well off that tend to pay their bills through the Post Office and they are being penalised again by these changes.'

He continued:

' By encouraging people not to use the Post Office we have another nail in the coffin of rural services. We should be doing all we can to encourage the viability Post Offices, which are an essential part of community and village life. This is just another instance of cuts being made that hit those that can least afford them'