Shadow business secretary would support ‘mutualisation’ of Post Office
Sky News reported that the Department for Business and Trade has asked a management consultancy to review options for how to mutualise the institution
The shadow business secretary has said he would support giving ownership of the Post Office to its employees, following reports the proposal is being considered by officials.
Kevin Hollinrake, who served as postal minister in Rishi Sunak’s government, said the plan to mutualise the Post Office had been considered when he was in office.
Sky News reported that the Department for Business and Trade has asked BCG, the management consultancy, to review options for how to mutualise the institution – which has more than 11,600 branches across the UK.
It would see the Post Office run in a similar model to that of the John Lewis Partnership, which runs the department store and supermarket Waitrose.
No decision has been taken. A report is expected to be presented to Jonathan Reynolds, the Business Secretary, in the coming months, according to Sky News.
Speaking to Laura Kuenssberg on BBC One on Sunday, Mr Hollinrake said: “Mutualisation was always on the table when the Post Office became an independent organisation, so we should look at that.
“There is a feeling, quite understandably, amongst postmasters that the Post Office is run far too much in terms of command and control and the centre, they need more say in how the organisation is run.”
Mr Hollinrake met trade union officials and others in February to discuss the potential of mutualising it. The way the Post Office has been run has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years in the wake of the Horizon IT scandal.
It saw more than 900 subpostmasters prosecuted for stealing, based on incorrect information from an IT system known as Horizon.
Mr Hollinrake said: “We brought in an excellent new chair, Nigel Railton, who has much retail experience. He’s keen to look at (mutualisation) too.
“There are some challenges, of course, not least paying the compensation that we’ve accelerated significantly and things like the software replacement, so there would be some challenges ahead in doing that right now, but there are ways of doing that.”
He added: “But I think it’s something we should definitely consider.”
The Department for Business and Trade declined to comment.
