TWO TAYSIDE MPs have backed a call for Post Office Ltd to keep running a card account used by more than four million people amid fears that the loss of the contract could see another 3000 branches shut.

The SNP’s Stewart Hosie (Dundee East) and Mike Weir (Angus) are among 130 MPs—about one fifth of the House of Commons—who have so far signed an early day motion.

This notes that the Post Office network earns £200 million each year from transactions involving the accounts, which can be used to receive state benefit, pension and tax credit payments.

Users do not incur charges and cannot go overdrawn, making them suitable for people on low incomes.

According to the Government’s own financial inclusion taskforce, of the four million people with a card account more than one million do not have a bank account.

The early day motion, which was proposed by a Labour MP and has attracted cross-party support, notes that the Government is soon to announce its decision about who will operate the successor to the card account from 2010.

Mr Hosie and Mr Weir are both supporting the demand that the Post Office keeps the business because of its “unrivalled geographical reach, its status as a trusted brand and its ability to offer customers a seamless transition.”

The MPs who have signed the motion believe this is essential to the viability of the Post Office network in the wake of the closure programme now under way.

About 2500 branches across the UK are being axed and there are proposals to shut 28 in Tayside and Fife, including four each in Dundee and Angus.

But the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters believes a quarter of the remaining network, around 3000 offices, could then be at risk if the card account business is lost.

Federation research found that the account makes up about 12% of sub-postmasters’ income and users are responsible for more than a quarter of the 24 million visits to post offices every week.

Their argument has already been backed by MPs on the Commons’ business and enterprise committee, who concluded that it was vital that the Post Office win the contract for the successor to the card account.

The federation is running a campaign asking members of the public to contact their MP urging them to support the early day motion. To date, Mr Hosie and Mr Weir are the only members with constituencies in Tayside or Fife to do so.