The National Federation of SubPostmasters (NFSP) has called on Government to reverse its decision to remove DVLA services from the Post Office network from the end of March next year.

The NFSP says the changes will put many Post Offices at risk of closure as this funding dries up. The organisation, which represents Sub Postmasters, says six million people use the Post Office network for accessing DVLA services per year, with half using cash as a payment method.

The petition has already gained support from many organisations, including the RSN, as well as customers.

One Post Office customer told the BBC, which broke the story, that she had recently renewed her car tax at her local Post Office:

"I'm not a confident person online and there's an incredible number of people locally who are even younger or older than me, who don't do anything online, and they would be totally lost without the Post Office.”

Sub Postmaster at the Post Office in Kington, Herefordshire, Tim Allen, told the BBC that he worries the changes will leave people in rural towns more isolated:

“What we should be doing as a Post Office is providing the interface into government services.

“A lot of people, in this increasingly digital world that we're faced with, don't really feel equipped to battle with that digital world.

“They either don't have computers, they don't have smartphones or they don't have the confidence."

RSN Chief Executive, Kerry Booth told the BBC: “When we start to see things like a bank withdrawing from a high street, the Post Office going, those are the core services why people may be visiting our rural market towns.  Their loss can then have a detrimental impact on other businesses in the area.” Kerry went on to say: “We find in those smaller villages where we have Post Office services, they actually provide a wider role to the community which helps reduce social isolation.  People living in these villages need to access the services but also to have contact with other people.  If there is poor public transport in our rural communities, visiting the Post Office or visiting the community shop, that might be the only contact that people have throughout the day with another person, so they play a vital role in reducing social isolation.”

You can find out more about the story on BBC Midlands Today (from 11:39 – please note this link expires at 6:57pm Tuesday 11 July 2023) and you can sign the petition here. Paper copies are also available at your local Post Office.