THE SUBPOSTMASTER - JUNE ISSUE

Conference 2024
Monday morning of Conference featured Your Questions, a
panel Q&A session, in which postmasters had the chance to put
their most pressing questions about the future of the post office
network to Postal Affairs Minister Kevin Hollinrake, Post Office
Ltd (PO) Chief Executive Nick Read, NFSP CEO Calum Greenhow
and Darren Burns, of the Timpson Group. This session ran for
over 90 minutes and was chaired by NFSP Chair Tim Boothman.
Here are some of the key topics which were covered:
BRAND RESTORATION
Kevin Hollinrake: “I get the fact there
has been damage to the brand at the
centre – at government level, and at
shareholder level, in terms of the way
PO has been managed in the past.
“We’re dealing with that through
the Horizon Inquiry, we’re dealing
with that through compensation and
doing what we’ve never done before
which is overturning convictions
through statute. More than 700
people will quite rightly have their
names cleared on that basis.
“By the end of this year, most of
those things will be out of the way,
and the Inquiry will report early next
year.
“We’ve not got a damaged brand
here that we need to change
somehow. We just need to invest
properly in that brand.
“It’s my view that at a local level,
post offices are very highly valued
parts of our communities. As long as
they are valuable in terms of
profitability, then they will have a
value in terms of running a business
and selling a business.”
Nick Read: “There is an enduring
brand here which has lasted for 360
years. No question we’re in a bad and
tight spot at the moment but I believe
we will come through this.
“I spend a lot of time talking to
corporate businesses about how long
it takes to recover from the nadir,
when you’re right in it. People talk
about two to three years to rejuvenate
and regenerate.
“We’ve got a Minister and a
government that wants the post
office to succeed.”
BANKING FRAMEWORK 4
AND AUTOMATION
Nick Read: “If banks are saving £3
billion a year from their physical
estates then that responsibility that
has been handed to the post office
needs to be paid for.
“If you look at the reduction in costs
of running a bank branch versus
running either a Banking Hub or an
enhanced office, it’s something like a
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16 The SubPostmaster June 2024