division_name: Future of the Post Office Network
motion: <p class="" pid=".734.1/1" pwmotiontext="yes">I beg to move,</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid=".734.1/2" pwmotiontext="yes">That this House deplores the programme to close 3,000 urban post offices because closure decisions are being made without taking adequately into account the needs of post office customers; believes that honourable Members are insufficiently consulted when proposed closures are announced; regrets the lack of time available to provide for a full consultation period and the failure of the consultation process to influence the closure programme; condemns the Government as the sole shareholder of Royal Mail plc's wholly-owned subsidiary, The Post Office Ltd., for its failure to intervene in order to rectify the way in which the Urban Reinvention Programme is being implemented; expresses its great concern about the programme to implement Post Office card accounts, which is failing to reflect the needs of customers, especially for the most vulnerable, including elderly and disabled people; calls on the Government to give a firm indication that an Exceptions Service will be introduced and to provide the House with the details of how such a system will operate after 2005; and further calls on the Government to make a statement on the sustainability of the funding of rural post offices beyond 2006.</p>
  
  <p class="" pid=".745.1/1" pwmotiontext="yes">I beg to move, To leave out from "House" to the end of the Question, and to add instead thereof:</p>
  
  <p class="indent" pid=".745.1/2" pwmotiontext="yes">"congratulates the Government for its commitment to modernise and invest in the national network of post offices while keeping them easily accessible to all customers; notes that the choice of account for customers into which they wish their benefits paid is entirely a matter for the customer concerned and congratulates the Government on ensuring that all the necessary information is available to customers to make an informed choice; applauds the Government's &#163;2 billion investment in the Post Office network and its success in reducing the rate of rural post office closures; notes the Post Office's commitment to ensuring that 95 per cent. of the urban population live within a mile of a post office, and the majority within half a mile, and that honourable Members are consulted on proposed closures as part of an agreed process between the Post Office and Postwatch; further notes that 3,500 post offices closed under the previous administration; and condemns those who seek to undermine confidence in Britain's postal services."</p>
  
  <p pid=".781.1/1" pwmotiontext="yes"><i>Question put accordingly,</i> That the original words stand part of the Question:&#8212;</p>
  
  <p pid=".781.1/2" pwmotiontext="yes"><i>The House divided:</i> Ayes 205, Noes 326.</p>