Heather Wheeler MP is showing her support for Post Offices in South Derbyshire, after attending a Parliamentary event in Westminster to find out how local branches are providing vital services to the community.
The event, held at the House of Commons on Wednesday 18th October, showcased Post Office products and services to MPs from across the country, particularly highlighting the access that branches provide to banking services and household bill payments.
Bank branch closures can have a real impact on a community, so the Post Office – including those 18 branches in South Derbyshire – have an important role to play in offering both personal and business everyday banking services to communities. This means that millions of individuals and small businesses can withdraw and deposit cash, pay in cheques, and check their balance. And with people keen to pay in their old ‘round’ pound coins now they are no longer legal tender, they are able to deposit any coins they still have into their usual bank account at their nearest Post Office.
In addition, constituents in South Derbyshire can also pay their bills at their local Post Offices, along with a range of other services, from mails to foreign currency. And of particular use to small businesses is Drop & Go at Post Offices, a pre-paid mail service which makes it speedier for small business customers to drop off their online orders, products and samples and post them to their customers across the UK and around the world.
These services, all available locally, are particularly important for those in South Derbyshire without easy access to transport, or those who are elderly or vulnerable in the community; with around 93 per cent of people in the UK living within just one mile of their nearest Post Office, they always have what they need close by.
Heather Wheeler MP said: “The event has proved really useful in highlighting just what an important role our Post Offices play; they are vital hubs in their local communities.
“That is certainly true in and around South Derbyshire, where people often tell me how much they value the essential services that the Post Office provides, from mailing to banking. I am proud that our Post Offices continue to give the South Derbyshire community access to important amenities they value close to their doorsteps.
I was interested to learn that over the last year, 79,000 pension and benefit payments, 111,000 cash withdrawals, 26,000 cash deposits and 43,000 bill payments took place in South Derbyshire Post Office branches.”
Paula Vennells, Group Chief Executive of the Post Office said: “It was great to meet Heather Wheeler MP to talk about the range of services Post Office offers in the local community from everyday banking to bill payments and foreign currency. By continuing to invest in post offices and – most importantly – by putting our customers first, I am confident that local Post Offices will continue to play a vital role at the heart of local communities for generations to come.”
Along with finding out more about the services that Post Offices provide, Heather Wheeler MP and the South Derbyshire constituency will also now compete against other MPs and constituencies around the country for the most number of transactions per branch – for a whole range of transaction types, including most cash withdrawals and most bill payments. Heather Wheeler MP is urging local people to get the most out of their local Post Office by using it to access their bank account, pay their bills and collect and return their online shopping. This is particularly relevant for our village Post Offices.
This annual competition will highlight just how much communities rely on and use their local Post Offices, with the winning MP and constituency taking home a special trophy.