Subpostmasters' Fears For The Future

Four months after the Government changed the way pensions and benefits are paid, over half of subpostmasters have experienced a decrease in pension and/or benefit income, according to a new survey from MORI.

The new scheme, known as Direct Payment, means that instead of cashing order books and girocheques at post offices, pensioners and benefits claimants receive their payments directly into bank and Post Office accounts.

This decrease in income is one of the main findings from the first part of a major new survey of 800 subpostmasters undertaken by MORI on behalf of the National Federation of SubPostmasters (NFSP).

The second part of the survey is scheduled for May 2004, one year after the introduction of Direct Payment.

Among the key findings of the survey are:

• Nearly half of subpostmasters are worried that their business will not have a future, while a further one in seven can see no future whatsoever for their post office. Another two per cent expect to be bankrupt in a few months.
• Just over a third of subpostmasters have seen a decrease in gross pay between August 2002 and August 2003. While half of subpostmasters have seen an increase in gross pay, for most, this has merely been in line with inflation.
• Over half the subpostmasters who gave information about their personal income, revealed pay of under 1631000 for the month of August 2003 from their post office business.
• 55% of subpostmasters have seen a decrease in orderbook / girocheque income
• More than two-fifths of subpostmasters have seen their automated bill payment income decrease.
• For those sub post offices that have a shop or other business attached, 40% have experienced a decrease in customer spend. Of these, customers are spending 20% less on average.

• Download the full report: Subpostmaster Income -- The Impact of Changes to the Benefits Payment System -- pdf document, 218K

Technical details

The MORI survey: Subpostmaster Income -- The Impact of Changes to the Benefits Payment System. MORI interviewed a representative sample of 800 subpostmasters by telephone, using CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing) between 6-27 November 2003.