Information on all Post Office branches

Dear Mr Burgess,

Thank you for your request for information received on 20/11/2008, which we
are considering under the Freedom of Information Act. Under the Act you
should expect a reply from us to be sent by 18/12/2008, which is twenty
working days from receipt of your request.

If for any reason we are unable to provide you with a full response within
that time, we will contact you explaining the reasons for this and giving a
revised date by which we will reply.

If in the mean time you have any questions or would like to contact us
about your request, please contact us by telephone 01252 806513 or
alternatively email or write to us at the address below. Please be assured
that we are giving this our attention and will get back to you shortly.

Yours sincerely

Roger Mence
[Royal Mail Group request email]
Freedom of Information Unit
PO Box 341, ALDERSHOT, GU11 1WW

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in England
and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 148 Old Street, LONDON EC1V
9HQ

Julian Burgess
<request-4285-b2163b60@whatdoth To: FOI requests at Royal Mail Group <[Royal Mail Group request email]>
eyknow.com> cc:
Sent by: Julian Burgess Subject: Freedom of Information request - Information on all Post Office branches
<request-4285-b2163b60@whatdoth
eyknow.com>

19/11/2008 20:22

Dear Sir or Madam,

I have used your Branch Finder service (as mentioned in your
publication scheme), but it does not provide all the information
that I am requesting and there for the information is not readily
accessible to me.

Please could you provide me with a list of every branch of the Post
Office, including the following information for each branch if
available. If any of the information list below is not available,
please could you clarify whether it is not held, not applicable or
not available for some other reason for that branch.

Branch Name Address Postcode Telephone Fax Email Type of Outreach
Service Constituency Normal Opening Hours Bank Holiday Opening
Hours Christmas and New Year Opening Hours Number of Customer
Serving Positions Average Number of Customer Sessions (per week)
Additional Services Available Ease of Access to Branch (number of
steps, narrow entrance, etc.)

Additionally if you hold any further information on each Post
Office branch then I would like that to be included as well, or a
list of the types of information that you store if this is easier.

Please could you provide this information in comma separated values
(CSV) format, XML or plain text if possible.

Yours faithfully,

Julian Burgess

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Dear Mr Burgess,

Thank you for your request for information received on 20th November 2008,
which we are considering under the Freedom of Information Act. Under the
Act you should expect a reply from us to be sent by 18th December 2008,
which is twenty working days from receipt of your request.

If for any reason we are unable to provide you with a full response within
that time, we will contact you explaining the reasons for this and giving a
revised date by which we will reply.

If in the mean time you have any questions or would like to contact us
about your request, please contact us by telephone 01252 806513 or
alternatively email or write to us at the address below. Please be assured
that we are giving this our attention and will get back to you shortly.

Yours sincerely

Roger Mence
[Royal Mail Group request email]
Freedom of Information Unit
PO Box 341, ALDERSHOT, GU11 1WW

Royal Mail is a trading name of Royal Mail Group Ltd. Registered in England
and Wales.
Registered number 4138203. Registered office at 148 Old Street, LONDON EC1V
9HQ

Julian Burgess
<request-4285-b2163b60@whatdoth To: FOI requests at Royal Mail Group <[Royal Mail Group request email]>
eyknow.com> cc:
Sent by: Julian Burgess Subject: Freedom of Information request - Information on all Post Office branches
<request-4285-b2163b60@whatdoth
eyknow.com>

19/11/2008 20:22

Dear Sir or Madam,

I have used your Branch Finder service (as mentioned in your
publication scheme), but it does not provide all the information
that I am requesting and there for the information is not readily
accessible to me.

Please could you provide me with a list of every branch of the Post
Office, including the following information for each branch if
available. If any of the information list below is not available,
please could you clarify whether it is not held, not applicable or
not available for some other reason for that branch.

Branch Name Address Postcode Telephone Fax Email Type of Outreach
Service Constituency Normal Opening Hours Bank Holiday Opening
Hours Christmas and New Year Opening Hours Number of Customer
Serving Positions Average Number of Customer Sessions (per week)
Additional Services Available Ease of Access to Branch (number of
steps, narrow entrance, etc.)

Additionally if you hold any further information on each Post
Office branch then I would like that to be included as well, or a
list of the types of information that you store if this is easier.

Please could you provide this information in comma separated values
(CSV) format, XML or plain text if possible.

Yours faithfully,

Julian Burgess

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To Julian Burgess

Freedom of Information Request

Thank you for your request for information about branches in the Post
Office network. Your request was received and it is being dealt with under
the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

The Freedom of Information Act requires Post Office Limited to respond
within 20 working days of receipt of your request. If for any reason Post
Office Limited feel that our response will be delayed then we will inform
you of the expected response time as soon as possible.

If you have any queries about this email, please contact me at the address
below.

Yours sincerely

Chantel Thomas
Asst Freedom of Information Advisor
Freedom of Information Unit, PO Box 341, Aldershot, GU11 1WW
[1][Royal Mail Group request email]

Post Office Ltd
Registered in England and Wales number: 2154540 Registered Office: 80-86
Old Street LONDON EC1V 9NN.

References

Visible links
1. mailto:[Royal Mail Group request email]

Dear Mr Burgess

I am writing in response to your requested for information dated 20
November 2008. You requested a list of every branch of the Post Office
including the following information:

“Branch Name Address Postcode Telephone Fax Email Type of Outreach Service
Constituency Normal Opening Hours Bank Holiday Opening Hours Christmas and
New Year Opening Hours Number of Customer Serving Positions Average Number
of Customer Sessions (per week) Additional Services Available Ease of
Access to Branch (number of steps, narrow entrance, etc.)”

“Additionally if you hold any further information on each Post Office
branch then I would like that to be included as well, or a list of the
types of information that you store if this is easier.”

The name, address, postcode, services available, and normal opening hours
for every branch of the post office is available from our website:
http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/fi...

You can search for all branches in a particular town or postcode area. The
search results will list all branches in each town and the addresses. You
can click on the ‘view details’ button next to each address to view the
opening hours for that branch. You can also sort the branches by the
additional services available, by following the on screen instructions.

Under section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act, we are not required to
provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably
accessible to you. You asked for information to be provided in comma
separated values (CSV) format, XML or plain text if possible. However, the
availability of information on current branches is specified in our
publication scheme, which directs applicants to the on-line ‘branch
locator’. Royal Mail therefore considers that the information is clearly
exempt from disclosure under s21 of the Act, and that there is no
obligation to provide it in the alternative format requested. This is an
absolute exemption and the public interest test does therefore not apply.

In relation to the further information you requested, we do not hold this
information in one consolidated list for every post office branch.

Telephone

It may be helpful if I explain the nature of the relationship between
subpostmasters and Post Office Ltd. The vast majority of Post Office®
branches are managed by Agents (subpostmasters) who provide services on
behalf of Post Office Limited. As part of the contract for services,
subpostmasters are responsible for providing the premises from which the
branch is operated. Subpostmasters may operate a private retail business
from the same premises or in many cases the premises acts as their business
in addition to their private residence. The provision of a telephone
contact point is the responsibility of the relevant subpostmaster, and as
such each individual subpostmaster decides whether to include their
telephone number in a published directory, such as Yellow Pages and local
Business directories. Some subpostmasters choose to retain an ex-directory
number.

In order to facilitate a telephone contact point for all our customers we
operate a customer services helpline on the telephone number 08457 223 344.
This helpline can provide customers with information in relation to Post
Office® branches, including the telephone number, and is also the contact
number for all of the Crown Post Office® branches. The Helpline opening
hours are;
8.15am - 6.00pm Monday to Friday
8.30am - 7.00pm Saturday

We do hold a list of contact telephone numbers for each Post Office® branch
and these phone numbers are available to our customers, locally from Post
Office® branches or via our customer services helpline. We believe this
information is reasonably accessible therefore to all members of the public
and exempt from disclosure under section 21 of the Freedom of Information
Act.

We have considered whether it is reasonably practicable to provide the
information in the form you requested specifically, as a list of phone
numbers for each Post Office® branch. In order to release such a list into
the public domain we would need to contact individual subpostmasters to
ensure that the telephone number on record was correct for their branch and
that they were happy for the number to be made public. This would place a
significant burden on our resources which we do not believe would be
reasonable given the availability of information to our customers through
our customer services helpline.

Fax and E-mail

We do not hold a list of fax numbers and email addresses for all Post
Office® branches. We only hold this data where it has been specifically
provided by the subpostmaster for local contact and operational purposes.
To locate and retrieve such information from across Post Office Limited, in
order to compile a list for every branch (for which we do hold a fax number
of email address), would exceed the cost limit for answering a request
under the Freedom of Information Act.

Section 12 of the Act makes provision for public authorities to refuse
requests for information where the cost of dealing with them would exceed
the appropriate limit. The appropriate limit for Royal Mail Group is set
at £450. This limit represents the estimated cost of one person spending
18 hours in determining whether we hold the information, and in locating,
retrieving and extracting the information. As it would exceed the limit to
compile this information, Post Office Limited is not obliged to respond to
this particular aspect of your request.

Type of Outreach Service

The information you requested is available from our website:
http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/co...
By accessing the Area Plan Decision Documents provided for each area plan
you will be able to locate the Outreach Service Types by branch. Under
section 21 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in
response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you.

Constituency

Again, the information you requested is available from our website and this
information is considered to be exempt from disclosure under section 21 of
FOIA:

http://www.postoffice.co.uk/portal/po/co...

When you access this page please follow the on screen instructions, copied
below for reference.

1. go to www.postoffice.co.uk select ‘Branch finder’ and enter your post
code. Click ‘search’.

2. then scroll down the page to find your nearest Post Office® branch. Note
the post code. Then go to www.upmystreet.com/commons/ and enter your local
branch’s postcode. Click on ‘search’. Note the constituency for your local
branch.

3. then download the Consultation Period Area Look up document and find the
constituency of your local Post Office® within the document.

In the case both information on outreach services and constituency, we do
not believe it would be reasonably practicable to provide the information
in the form of a list for each Post Office® branch, as the information is
already reasonably accessible to all Post Office® customers and members of
the public.

Bank Holiday Opening Hours

I can advise you that the majority of Post Office® branches are closed on
Bank Holidays. There are occasions when a small number of branches choose
to operate a limited service on Bank Holidays. If a specific branch
chooses to operate additional hours, this will be advertised to the
customers in the form of a poster in branch and our customer helpline will
be informed. These opening times may be subject to change for the latest
information please contact our customer helpline on 08457 223344.

Christmas and New Year opening hours

The Christmas and New Year opening hours for all of our branches are as
follows.

Wednesday 24 December - Open until 12.30pm
Thursday 25 December - Closed (Christmas Day)
Friday 26 December - Closed (Boxing Day)
Saturday 27 December - Business as usual
Sunday 28 December - Closed
Monday 29 December - Business as usual
Tuesday 30 December - Business as usual
Wednesday 31 December - Open until 4.00pm

Thursday 1 January 2009 - Closed (New Year's Day)
Friday 2 January 2009 - Business as usual in the UK, Scotland branches are
closed
Saturday 3 January 2009 - Business as usual

These opening hours are also provided on the Post Office® website.

Number of customer serving positions and Average number of customer
sessions (per week)

I can advise you that I do hold relevant to your request, however I am
unable to provide you the information requested.

Customer session data and number of customer serving positions have only
been made available to the public for branches that have been directly
affected by The Network Change Programme. This information is included on
the Branch Access Reports available on the website referenced above under
Outreach Services.

Branches directly affected by the Network Change Programme include,

Proposed Closure Branches
1st Alternative Branches
2nd Alternative Branches
Proposed Outreach Branches

Post Office Limited believe, for the Network Change Programme, it is within
the public interest to see this information due to the need to view how the
service in the area will be impacted by the change programme.

However it has not been possible to complete such reports for all branches
and Post Office Limited believes that the release of customer session
numbers and customer serving positions for all branches would cause
commercial prejudice. In this respect Post Office Limited relies upon the
exemption provided in Section.43 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act,
concerning likely prejudice to commercial interests. As information has
been exempted under Section.43 (2) of the Freedom of Information Act, a
public interest test applies and Post Office Limited believes the balance
of public interest is, in all circumstances of the case, in favour of
withholding the information.

An example of how Post Office Limited’s interests would likely be
prejudiced by the disclosure of this information is how competitors could
react to the availability of the information. Competitors could build a
profile, locally and nationally, which could be then used to target
competitive activity, threatening the viability of branches. This would
lead to a depressed market for Post Office businesses would damage Post
Office Limited's ability to properly resource the network and may lead to a
series of forced closures where no Subpostmaster can be found to replace a
retiring Subpostmaster.

Ease of Access to branch (number of steps, narrow entrance.)

In response I would advise you that Post Office Limited does hold some of
the information you have requested.

Ease of Access to a branch has only been made available to the public for
branches that have been directly affected by The Network Change Programme.
This information is included on the Branch Access Reports available on the
website referenced above under Outreach Services.

However Post Office Limited is in the process of carrying out access
assessments for branches within the last 10 area plans for Network Change,
plus branches within the London area plan. Office® network. The responses
to these assessments have been and will continue to be posted on the
following Direct Enquiries website available at;

http://www.directenquiries.com/advsearch...

Unfortunately Post Office Limited does not hold information on ease of
access to branches not included on Branch Access Reports or on the Direct
Enquiries website.

I am sorry I cannot provide you with all the information you have requested
although I do hope the information I have provided is of use. However, if
you're not satisfied with this response, you do have a right to request an
internal review. If you wish to do so please set out in writing your
grounds for doing so and send to the Head of Information Compliance, Royal
Mail House, Company Secretary's Office, 148 Old Street, LONDON, EC1V 9HQ.
An internal panel will then review the decision, and you will be advised of
the outcome.

If, having requested an internal review by Royal Mail Group, you are still
not satisfied with our response you also have a right of appeal to the
Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545 700
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Peter Johnson
Freedom of Information Advisor
Freedom of Information Unit, PO Box 341, Aldershot, GU11 1WW
[Royal Mail Group request email]

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Dear Mr Burgess

I am writing in response to your email dated 22 December 2008. I am very
sorry for the length of time taken to respond and apologise for any
inconvenience this may have caused. In your email you queried the response
given in Peter Johnson’s reply of the 18 December and I am writing to
clarify that response.

In relation to a list of contact telephone numbers for every Post Office®
branch, Mr Johnson confirmed in his reply that Post Office Limited does
hold this information. However, as Mr Johnson stated in his reply, this
information is already available to you and all members of the public from
Post Office Limited’s customer services helpline and from local Post Office
® branches. Under section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, we
are not required to provide the information in response to a request if it
is already reasonably accessible to you. Post Office Limited believes
therefore, that the exemption under section 21 applies to this information.
Section 21 is not subject to the public interest test: if, the information
requested is accessible to you by other means, then it is exempt from
disclosure.

The act requires us, so far as is reasonably practicable, to provide a copy
or summary of the information you requested in a form acceptable to you.
Obviously in this case, although the information is already accessible from
Post Office Limited, you would prefer to receive a list of telephone
numbers for each Post Office® branch for your own purposes. However, it
would not be reasonably practicable for Post Office Limited to release such
a list into the public domain for the reasons given in Mr Johnson’s
original reply.

In your email you also stated that you do not agree that releasing the
number of customer serving positions at each Post Office® branch would
cause commercial prejudice. Post Office Limited believe that this
information would be likely to be utilised by their competitors resulting
in prejudice to their commercial interests and that therefore, section 43
is engaged. You do of course have a right to request an internal review of
this decision. If you wish to do so please set out in writing your grounds
for appeal and send to the Head of Information Compliance, Royal Mail
House, Company Secretary's Office, 148 Old Street, LONDON, EC1V 9HQ. An
internal panel will then review the decision, and you will be advised of
the outcome.

If, having requested an internal review by Royal Mail Group, you are still
not satisfied with our response you also have a right of appeal to the
Information Commissioner at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Telephone: 01625 545 700
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk

Yours sincerely

Colin Young
Freedom of Information Manager
[Royal Mail Group request email]

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