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To: ci: Secretary of State
MR MCCARTNEY Seb. Sir Michael Scholar
I YQ tA
IG CGBPS
From: 2. Ma Fe “I PORT
DAVID SIBBICK 3. Mo of FRM
DIRECTOR POSTS [ {)\ Dr Hopkins cll
: Mr Osborne Legal C
Mr Seabrook COM
Mr Whitehead CGBPS 1
Ms Anderson CGBPS1
. Mr Corry SpAdv
TNE EE Ms Moore SpAdv
HORIZON WORKING GROUP: FIRST MEETING TUESDAY 8 JUNE
1999 - STEERING BRIEF
Issue
1, You have called an initial meeting of your Horizon Working Group at 10.30
a.m. on Tuesday 8 June. A steering brief for the meeting is attached at Annex A. Draft
terms of reference for discussion at the meeting are at Annex B; an agenda for the
meeting is at Annex C. You have a copy of the Press Notice of 24 May and
associated lines to take.
Attending:
Chairman: Mr Ian McCartney
Mr Stuart Sweetman Managing Director, POCL
Mr Dave Miller POCL
Mr Derek Hodgson General Secretary, Communication Workers Union
Mr John Baldwin Communication Workers Union
Mr Terry Deegan _ General Secretary, Communication Manager's Association
Mr Tony Harris Communication Managers Association
Mr Colin Baker General Secretary, National Federation of Subpostmasters
Mr John Peberdy _— National Federation of Subpostmasters
Mr David Sibbick — Director-Posts
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Ms Isabel Anderson Postal Services Directorate
Mr Geoff Moore APS/ Mr McCartney
Background
2. We suggest that you use the meeting to explain the current situation with the
automation programme and the role you consider the Horizon Working Group should
play.
3. Given the disappointment of all the participants at the loss of the benefit
payment card element of the project the meeting will require careful handling. Whilst
retention of the automation element of the project will be seen as helpful, strong
concerns will be expressed about the impact of the likely significant drop in income
which will be experienced by subpostmasters from 2003 when paper based benefit
payments are progressively replaced by ACT transactions - given that the income the
Post Office can expect to earn from carrying out banking transactions on an agency
basis for the high street banks is likely to be only a fraction of that currently received
from the Benefits Agency.
4. There will be concerns about pinning down the BA both in terms of the back to
back agreements which POCL will need to negotiate with them (including the price to
be paid for the Order Book Control Service (OBCS), and on the commitment to make
no changes (other than by prior agreement with POCL) to existing payment methods
(including periodicity).
3. The NFSP are likely to warn that fears about the future viability of post offices
will lead to further loss of confidence amongst subpostmasters and post office
closures, especially in rural areas. They will ask what the Government intends to do
about the obvious and very large funding gap that will open up beyond 2003 with the
progressive disappearance of BA revenue, against the repeated commitment by
Ministers to the nationwide network of post offices. Given the lack of Ministerial
consensus on the way forward on this issue, the answer has to be that we look to the
members of the Group to work together to maximise the very great commercial
potential of the Horizon platform, but that the Government will be discussing the
longer term viability of the network with the Post Office in the context of the Strategic
Plan.
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DAVID SIBBICK
HZMEET1.DOC