WRITTEN STATEMENTS OF OPINION TABLED ON 22/09/2008

R Signifies the Member has declared an interest

OPIN-2008- 0063 - Successor to the Post Office Card Account (POCA2)

Raised By:

Michael German

Subscribers:

Trish Law 24/09/2008

Mick Bates 20/10/2008

Janet Ryder 13/11/2008

Chris Franks 13/11/2008

Mohammad Asghar 13/11/2008

Helen Matry Jones 13/11/2008

Bethan Jenkins 13/11/2008

Dr Dai Lloyd 13/11/2008

Nerys Evans 13/11/2008

Gareth Jones 13/11/2008

Rhodri Glyn Thomas 13/11/2008

Successor to the Post Office Card Account (POCA2)

The National Assembly for Wales:

- supports current and future customer using the successor Post Office Account Card (POCA2)to continue accessing benefits and pensions, using the Post Office network.

- supports the findings of the New Economics Foundation that POCA helps combat financial exclusion and increase the functionality of the POCA to resemble a current account and that without business from POCA2, the Post Office network in Wales will be decimated.

Amendments

A01    16 Oct 2008 Raised by    Leanne Wood

Subscribers

Successor to Post Offices Card Account

This Assembly acknowledges the important role played by Post Offices throughout Wales in maintaining our local communities. Calls on the UK Government to reassess the commissioning criteria for Post Office Card Account in order to take account of social contribution, rather than strictly commercial considerations.

Believes that the POCA should remain with Post Office Limited and retained after 2010. If the UK Government is not willing to do so, the Assembly and local councils in Wales should seek to ensure that people in Wales have such an option laying the foundations for People’s Bank based on public service not speculation.