MPs plea for POCA to maintain its rural links
November 11, 2008 10:03 AM
Speaking in the House of Commons on a debate on the future of the Post Office Card Account (POCA), Aberdeenshire MPs Malcolm Bruce and Sir Robert Smith spoke up in favour of the Post Office being awarded the account.
Mr Bruce, the MP for Gordon said:
"The Government has a duty to ensure the widest geographic coverage for this 2nd version of the POCA scheme and only the Post Office has the capacity to provide this.
"The Government seems determined to make the Post Office a profitable concern but it is in fact a social lifeline for rural communities and the Post Office Card account is a key part of this. It is absurd when the Government is injecting billions of pounds into financial services, that for the sake of £150-£200m of operational costs, the Government would leave some of the most vulnerable people without an essential lifeline."
Sir Robert Smith the MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine added:
"It is up to pensioners to decide where to bank, and those who want to stay with the simple card account that the Post Office offers should be allowed to do so. They can use the card account safe in the knowledge they can't become overdrawn and face bank charges they can ill-afford.
"People are being bullied by the Government to move to other banks, taking business away from the Post Office. The government have just finished a closure programme in the North East, and our rural communities do not want to lose further branches. The Post Office offers the best rural network for accessing pensions and benefits."
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