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Parliamentary Candidate
Terry Scriven |
Parliamentary Campaigner, Terry Scriven, fears thousands of pensioners will be left in isolation if post offices in the New Forest are forced to close.
The Liberal Democrat prospective Member of Parliament for the New Forest East constituency has responded to the charity Age Concern who highlight the plight of thousands of pensioners. They risk being cut off from their community unless the Government steps in to rescue rural post offices.
New findings for the charity show that a whopping 99% of older people in rural areas consider their local post office to be “a lifeline”, with over half (56%) of over-60s in the countryside fearing that post office closures would leave them more isolated.
The report reveals that rural post offices provide much more than just a postal service to older people. Many pensioners use their post office as a ‘one-stop shop’ to access their pension and benefits, pay their bills, get advice and information, and meet and socialise with others. Closures could leave many older people increasingly financially and socially excluded.
Age Concern is calling on the Government to renew the subsidy of rural post offices as part of a more joined-up, imaginative approach to delivering essential local services.
Terry Scriven says “Nationally, about 2,500 Post Offices are likely to close within the next two years. A great many people living in the New Forest have told me how important access to a Post Office is to them. I have been adding my support to the campaign to save our Post Offices”.
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