Referral of the proposed network subsidy to Post Office Limited by the Department for Business and Trade
The Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) has accepted a request for a report providing advice to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) concerning its proposed Network Subsidy to Post Office Limited (POL).
Administrative timetable
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 28 April 2025 | SAU’s report to be published |
| 27 March 2025 | Deadline for receipt of any third-party submissions |
| 13 March 2025 | Beginning of reporting period |
Request from DBT
13 March 2025: The SAU has accepted a request for a report from DBT concerning its proposed Network Subsidy to POL. This request relates to a Subsidy of Particular Interest.
The SAU will prepare a report, which will provide an evaluation of DBT’s assessment of whether the scheme complies with the subsidy control requirements (Assessment of Compliance). The SAU will complete its report within 30 working days.
Information about the subsidy provided by DBT
POL is a Public Non-Financial Corporation (Public Corporation). It was constituted under the 2000 and 2011 Postal Services Acts and is wholly owned by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade. Through POL, Government ensures the provision of a network of Post Office branches, delivering essential services to customers across the UK. These services that POL delivers via its network are services of public and economic interest (SPEI). They include:
- access to postal services
- universal access to basic cash and banking facilities
- universal payment facilities for public utility services
- provision of services on behalf of central and local government
The Government requires POL to deliver these services of public and economic interest across specific access criteria. This includes maintaining a network of at least 11,500 branches, and ensuring that 99% of the UK population to be within three miles of their nearest Post Office outlet. This is a larger network than the commercial optimum for the company.
Due to this, Government has been providing POL with a subsidy to support the Post Office network and the delivery of these SPEI since POL was established as a result of the Postal Services Act 2011. DBT is proposing to award Post office a grant of up to £83 million to support the continued delivery of the SPEI across the UK, in Financial Year 2025 to 2026. Specifically, this subsidy will allow POL to continue to meet the operational costs of delivering Government policy.
The Department of Business and Trade, which is also the sole shareholder of POL, will continue to provide oversight of the company to ensure that Government policy requirements are met. The subsidy will be ringfenced for the purposes of delivering Government policy via the network and may not be used for supporting other activities undertaken by POL. The grant funding will cover the period of Financial Year 2025 to 2026 only. Grant payments will be released via instalments.
Information for third parties
If you wish to comment on matters relevant to the SAU’s evaluation of the Assessment of Compliance concerning DBT’s proposed Network subsidy, please send your comments on the date stipulated in the timetable above. For guidance on representations relevant to the Assessment of Compliance, see the section on reporting period and transparency in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.
Please send your submissions to us at: sau-postofficenetworksubsidy2025@cma.gov.uk, copying the public authority postofficepolicyandfunding@businessandtrade.gov.uk.
Please also provide a contact address and explain in what capacity you are making the submission (for example, as an individual or a representative of a business or organisation).
Notes to third parties wishing to make a submission
The SAU will only take your submission into account if it can be shared with DBT. The SAU will send a copy of your submission to DBT together with its report. This is to allow the public authority to take account of the submission in its decision as to whether to make or modify the scheme or its assessment. We therefore ask that you provide express consent for your full and unredacted submission to be shared. We also encourage you to share your submission directly with DBT using the email address provided above.
The SAU may use the information you provide in its published report. Therefore, you should indicate in your submission whether any specified parts of it are commercially confidential. If the SAU wishes to refer in its published report to material identified as confidential, it will contact you in advance.
For further details on confidentiality of third party submissions, see identifying confidential information in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.
Contacts
- SAU project team: sau-postofficenetworksubsidy2025@cma.gov.uk
- CMA press team: 020 3738 6460 or press@cma.gov.uk