WITN00370126 - Branch Secretaries’ Circular - Post Office under the spotlight

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WITN00370126

Branch Secretaries’ Circular

18 August 2015
Volume 24

Dear Branch Secretary
POST OFFICE UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT

Over recent weeks the inner workings of the Post Office have undergone more detailed public
exposure that it is has in many a year. Around a million of our customers now know a lot more
about the Post Office than they once did.

The BBC2 documentary ‘Signed, Sealed, Delivered - the Inside Story of the Post Office’ revealed
over three weeks the struggles and strains the business is currently experiencing. Viewers saw
the profound impact of change on subpostmasters, some of whom are being taken in a direction
they don’t want to go. Viewers also got to know some new subpostmasters entering the business,
for whom the new Post Office is an opportunity to expand their retail businesses.

They also saw a glimpse of the inner workings of the corporate Post Office, its managers, its
peculiar language and shiny new London office. Last night's Panorama BBC1 documentary
sought to get underneath the bright shiny exterior of the Post Office and reveal a less palatable
side of the business: the long-standing issue of prosecutions of subpostmasters and the alleged
systematic failings of Horizon looks set to continue for some time yet.

Over the past few years the NFSP has received thousands of telephone calls from
subpostmasters. The majority relate to employment law, contract issues and network
transformation. The remainder cover ATMS, cash supply and just about every subject you care to
mention, including a handful every month on Horizon connectivity and the problems of getting
through to Atos and the help desk.

Put simply, the NFSP has not received calls from subpostmasters querying Horizon and alleging
systematic failings. If there were a widespread problem, our subpostmasters would have made us
aware of it. As a result, we have no choice but to conclude that Horizon is a fundamentally sound
and safe system.

With a new Government and a new chairman on the way, the pressure on the Post Office will
intensify over the coming months. We have seen from its latest financial reports that the Post
Office remains a struggling business, unable to do more than steady the ship in the face of
increasingly fierce competition; navigating a route to growth and commercial success is still some
way off. As subpostmasters with a commercial interest in a successful Post Office, we must hope
that the organisation is able to successfully focus on the business in hand.

Here is the Post Office’s response to Panorama:
http://corporate.postoffice.co.uk/bbc-panorama-our-response

Yours sincerely

“GEORGE THOMSON
General Secretary