DWP00000072 - Letter from Rt Hon Margaret Beckett to Rt Hon Alistair Darling, re: Post Office Counters LTD

Evidence on official site

DWP00000072
DwpP00000072

RESTRICTED -POLICY

The Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP
President of the Board of Trade

. Secretary of State
The Rt Hon Alastair Darling MP Department of
Chief Secretary to the Treasury ‘Trade and Industry
HM Treasury :
Treasury Chambers [ RECEIVED 1 Victoria Street
Parliament Street London SW1H OET
London 17 OCT 1997

SW1P 3AG i

7 October 1997

Dror Ato

You have seen a copy of Gavin Strang’s letter of 29 July to me
about Post Office Counters Ltd (POCL) charges to the Driver and
Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) for issuing motor vehicle
licences {MVLs} through post offices and I have seen copies o
the recent letters between John Denham and you about the
slippage in the PFI project for automating post offices and
benefit payments. I have been reflecting carefully on the
issues raised and the potential implications for POCL.

rh

For a variety of reasons, the future viability of this most
politically sensitive of the Post Office businesses looks
increasingly fragile. Any precipitate change to the level of
Payments or volume of business risks seriously destabilising the
network. We should be looking at these issues in the wider
context of the review of the Post Office and I expect shortly to
consult you and colleagues about an agreed way forward for the
Post Office. I would hope therefore that you and colleagues
will agree that in the meantime no pre-emptive action should be
taken in a piecemeal fashion on issues of this sort impacting on
the Post Office.

I am copying this letter to Tony Blair, John Prescott,
David Blunkett, Donald Dewar, Harriet Harman, Mo Mowlam,
Ron Davies, Gavin Strang and John Denham and to

Sir Robin Butler.

cyaso4s