Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-18T17:19:44.714Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Changing Service Provision in Rural Areas and the Possible Impact on Older People: A Case Example of Compulsory Post Office Closures and Outreach Services in England

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 July 2015

Charlotte Hamilton
Charlotte Hamilton*
Affiliation:
Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of York E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Rural post office provision is becoming increasingly reliant on alternative delivery models. The effect of change could fall disproportionately on older people as a key customer group of the Post Office, overrepresented in rural areas. There are only very limited polices in this area. The existing literature has not yet examined where compulsory changes have taken place alongside the impact on older people living in the community. This research uses a mixed methods approach, exploring the example of the 2007–9 Post Office Network Change Programme in England and a case study of older people in a community affected by this change. Very rural areas were vulnerable to post office changes; 70 per cent of changes to post office delivery models occurred in these areas. It is important to consider the impacts of changes more broadly, including both direct and indirect outcomes.

Keywords

Ruralolder peopleservicessocial policypost offices
Type
Articles
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 15 , Issue 3 , July 2016 , pp. 387 - 401
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Age Concern and Help the Aged (2005) Delivering for Older People in Rural Areas: A Good Practice Guide, London: Age Concern, Help the Aged.Google Scholar
Atterton, J. (2008) ‘Rural proofing in England: a formal commitment in need of review’, Centre for Rural Economy Discussion Paper Series, Newcastle: Centre for Rural Economy, University of Newcastle upon Tyne.Google Scholar
BBC (2014a) ‘Lloyds Bank confirms 9,000 job losses and branch closures’, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-29798532 [accessed 10.11.2014].Google Scholar
BBC (2014b) ‘RBS to close 44 branches across UK’, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26865174 [accessed 03.09.2014].Google Scholar
BIS (2010) Securing the Post Office Network in the Digital Age, London: Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.Google Scholar
Bosworth, G. (2012) ‘Characterising rural businesses: tales from the paperman’, Journal of Rural Studies, 28, 4, 499–506.Google Scholar
Burrows, A. and Griffiths, C. (2010) How Was It for You? Consumer Engagement in the Post Office Closure Programme, London: Consumer Focus.Google Scholar
Cameron, E. (2015) Rural Proofing: Independent Implementation Review, London: Defra.Google Scholar
Connors, C., Kenrick, M., Block, A., Bamford, S. and Kneale, D. (2013) 2013 Rural Ageing Research Summary Report of Findings, London: Defra.Google Scholar
Consumer Focus (2009) Within Reach? Consumer Reactions to New Post Office Outreach Services, London: Consumer Focus.Google Scholar
Cowger, C. D. (1984) ‘Statistical significance tests: scientific ritualism or scientific method?’, Social Service Review, 58, 3, 358–72.Google Scholar
Defra (2007) A Rural/Urban Classification of Parliamentary Constituencies of England and Wales 2007, London: Defra.Google Scholar
Defra (2012) Rural Statement, London: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.Google Scholar
Defra (2013a) Rural Population and Migration, London: Defra.Google Scholar
Defra (2013b) Making Sure Government Policies and Programmes Benefit Businesses and Communities, London: Defra, https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/making-sure-government-policies-and-programmes-benefit-rural-businesses-and-communities [accessed 10.10.2013].Google Scholar
Defra (2013c) National Rural Proofing Guidelines, London: Defra.Google Scholar
Dobbs, B. and Strain, L. (2008) ‘Staying connected: issues of mobility of older rural adults’, in Keating, N. (ed.), Rural Ageing: A Good Place to Grow Old?, Bristol: The Policy Press, pp. 87–95.Google Scholar
Dwyer, P. and Hardill, I. (2011) ‘Promoting social inclusion? The impact of village services on the lives of older people living in rural England’, Ageing and Society, 31, 2, 243–64.Google Scholar
Fortunato, M. W. P., Alter, T. R., Bridger, J. C., Schramm, K. A. and Montopoli, L. A. (2013) ‘Weighing the universal service obligation: introducing rural well-being as a consideration in the viability of the United States Postal Service’, Community Development, 44, 2, 200–21.Google Scholar
Gray, D., Shaw, J. and Farrington, J. (2006) ‘Community transport, social capital and social exclusion in rural areas’, Area, 38, 1, 89–98.Google Scholar
Henkel, R. E. (1976) Tests of Significance, London: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Higgs, G. and Langford, M. (2013) ‘Investigating the validity of rural–urban distinctions in the impacts of changing service provision: the example of postal service reconfiguration in Wales’, Geoforum, 47, 53–64.Google Scholar
Hough, D. (2014) Numbers of Post Office Branches, London: House of Commons Library.Google Scholar
House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (2009) Oversight of the Post Office Network Change Programme, London: The Stationery Office.Google Scholar
Joseph, A. E. and Cloutier-Fisher, D. (2005) ‘Ageing in rural communities: vulnerable people in vulnerable places’, in Andrews, G. J. and Phillips, D. R. (eds.), Ageing and Place: Perspectives, Policy, Practice, Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 133–46.Google Scholar
Langford, M. and Higgs, G. (2010) ‘Accessibility and public service provision: evaluating the impacts of the Post Office Network Change Programme in the UK’, Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 35, 4, 585–601.Google Scholar
Manthorpe, J., Iliffe, S., Clough, R., Cornes, M., Bright, L. and Moriarty, J. (2008) ‘Elderly people's perspectives on health and well-being in rural communities in England: findings from the evaluation of the National Service Framework for Older People’, Health and Social Care in the Community, 16, 5, 460–8.Google Scholar
McAnulty, C. and Brown, R. (2011) Devon Knows: Long-Term Impacts and Lessons from the Post Office Closure Programme, London: Consumer Focus.Google Scholar
Meadowcroft, J. (2007) ‘Should rural post offices be subsidised?’, Economic Affairs, 27, 2, 102.Google Scholar
Morrison, D. E. and Henkel, R. E. (1970) ‘Significance tests reconsidered’, in Morrison, D. E. and Henkel, R. E. (eds.), The Significance Test Controversy: A Reader, London: Butterworths, pp. 182–98.Google Scholar
ONS (n.d.) Rural/Urban Local Authority (LA) Classification (England): Parliamentary constituencies 2010, http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/geography/products/area-classifications/rural-urban-definition-and-la/rural-urban-local-authority-la-classification-england-/index.html.Google Scholar
Post Office (2012) ‘FOI response’, letter to C. Hamilton, 17 July.Google Scholar
Post Office (2013) Transforming the Post Office, http://www.postoffice.co.uk/transforming-post-office [accessed 18.02.2013].Google Scholar
RERC (2006) Parliamentary Constituencies Classification Data 2001/2005, http://public.hildebrand.co.uk/rerc/findings/rural.html.Google Scholar
Richards, S. (2011) Rural Consumers in the UK: Bringing Together Consumer Focus Rural Policy and Research Findings, London: Consumer Focus.Google Scholar
Ritchie, J. and Spencer, L. (1994) ‘Qualitative data analysis for applied policy research’, in Bryman, A. and Burges, R. G. (eds.), Analyzing Qualitative Data, London: Routledge, pp. 173–94.Google Scholar
Rudas, T. (1998) Odds Ratios in the Analysis of Contingency Tables, London: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
Rural Services Network (2011) The State of Rural Public Services 2011, Devon: The Rural Services Network.Google Scholar
Smithson, M. (2003) Confidence Intervals, London: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
The British Postal Museum and Archive (2012) Post Office Statistics: Total Number of Post Offices since 1854, London: The British Postal Museum and Archive.Google Scholar
Ward, M. R., Somerville, P. and Bosworth, G. (2013) ‘“Now without my car I don't know what I’d do”: the transportation needs of older people in rural Lincolnshire’, Local Economy, 28, 6, 553–66.Google Scholar
Woods, M. (2006) ‘Redefining the “Rural Question”: the new “Politics of the Rural” and Social Policy’, Social Policy and Administration, 40, 6, 579–95.Google Scholar