Consultation outcome

Mutualisation of the Post Office

From:
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
Published
19 September 2011
This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
This consultation has concluded

Download the full outcome

Building a Mutual Post Office: the Government's Response

Ref: BIS/12/939

PDF, 303 KB, 40 pages

Detail of outcome

Original consultation

Summary

Sought feedback to clarify the issues that the government would need to take into account before converting the Post Office into a mutual.

This consultation ran from
to

Consultation description

This consultation built on the comprehensive report Mutual Options for Post Office Ltd commissioned by government and published in May 2011 by Co-operatives UK. The government aimed to investigate further the case for and shape of a mutualisation.

The consultation document set out the following key issues:

  • the current structure of Post Office Ltd and its business strategy
  • why the government thinks mutualisation could be a good idea for Post Office Ltd
  • the government’s belief that the members of the mutual should comprise an equal mix of ‘producers’ (such as employees and subpostmasters) and ‘consumers’, with no one constituency having an overall majority
  • why a Post Office mutual could work best without a government ownership stake, to provide a clear cultural break from the past, with government able to continue its relationship with the mutual on a contractual basis
  • the proposal that a possible structure for a Post Office mutual could be a three tier structure, comprising of the membership, a representative body, and Board of Directors
  • other considerations that the government needs to take into account before a move to a mutual would be possible, the most important of which is Post Office Ltd’s financial stability

See also the interactive webpage on the Post Office mutualisation consultation.

Documents

Building a Mutual Post Office

Ref: BIS/11/1211

PDF, 711 KB, 50 pages

Published 19 September 2011

Related content