The Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office and allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business.  This strategy, backed by Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010, has delivered a branch network that is at its most stable and accessible in decades, with over 11,500 branches and 99.7% of the UK population living within 3 miles of their nearest branch.  This investment in the Post Office has also led to other benefits to the consumer including an extra 200,000 opening hours per week and over 7,500 modernised branches.

There is no Post Office closure or privatisation programme and the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy has not received any representations on the franchising of the Post Office in Luton. The Post Office ran a 6-week public consultation from 24 October 2018 to 5 December 2018 and will write to locally elected representatives, Consumer Advocacy Bodies and respondents to the consultation on its decisions and plans.

The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.

While the Government sets the strategic direction for the Post Office, it allows the company the commercial freedom to deliver this strategy as an independent business. There is no post office closure programme in Luton or across the UK, however, post offices are being franchised and this is an operational matter for the Post Office. I have therefore asked Paula Vennells, the Group Chief Executive of Post Office Limited, to write to the hon Member on this matter. A copy of her reply will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

The relocation of the Peugeot warehouse from Coventry to Luton is a commercial decision for the company. Ministers and officials meet representatives of automotive sector companies regularly, including PSA (owner of Peugeot and Vauxhall) on a range of issues.

The Department for Transport is continually reviewing the service in the peaks from Bedford and Luton. Peak calls on East Midlands services have been removed temporarily until December 2020. The Department will continue to work with the rail industry to see if these calls can be reinstated earlier.