Rishi Sunak says he has received assurances from the Post Office that reductions in the opening hours of the Northallerton High Street branch are temporary.
The MP wrote to the Post Office after sudden and unannounced closures of the service in the branch of WH Smith.
He asked for an explanation for the reduction in the hours the counters are manned after being contacted by constituents.
Currently, the post office is closed on Sundays and closing early on weekdays and Saturday.
In its response the Post Office said the closures were caused by staff having to self-isolate during the Covid-19 pandemic and were short-term.
Mr Sunak said he welcomed the explanation and the assurance that the current operating hours were temporary.
He said: “I understand the difficulties Covid-19 has caused to many businesses, particularly in relation to staff.
“But I will continue to monitor the situation closely and will press the Post Office to ensure the usual opening hours resume as soon as possible.”
Mr Sunak added that when the branch was relocated to WH Smith in 2019, he had persuaded the Post Office to extend the opening hours to cover Saturday afternoons and Sunday, times when the old post office at the southern end of the High Street was closed.
“It is important that people in the Northallerton area benefit from the extra hours of opening the relocation to WH Smith introduced,” he said.
Be the first to comment