EAST Lancashire Tory MP Nigel Evans has warned that government proposals to pay pensions and benefits direct into people's bank accounts could lead to the closure of dozens of rural Post Offices, not to mention other shops in villages.

He told Trade and Industry Minister Stephen Byers to think again about his plans to shift away from people collecting welfare payments in cash.

Despite claims from the cabinet minister and Hyndburn MP Greg Pope that the new computerised system would not prevent people collecting money from Post Offices, Mr Evans said it would make a huge difference.

In a debate on the government's postal service bill, he said: "If the money is paid direct into people's bank accounts and it is no longer necessary for them to go into the Post Office once a week, we will find - this is the fear of the post masters - that they will pay their electricity bill through the post.

"They will look for other ways to pay their other utility bills. The footfall in the Post Office will disappear, in other words.

"That will threaten not only the Post Office. Some villages contain two or three shops: a butchers that is already under pressure, and perhaps one other small shop - a grocer or newsagent.

"Because the footfall has disappeared from the Post Office, it will disappear from other small shops in the village.

"All of a sudden, not just the Post Office, but a number of other smaller enterprises and shops in the village, are threatened." The Ribble Valley MP said that since the government came to power 486 rural Post Offices had already disappeared.

And he was not convinced that Mr Byers promise to provide 3,000 Post Offices with cash machines for banking services would help.

With the rest of Britain's 18,700 losing out he did not believe the government could guarantee that post offices in places such as West Bradford, Chatburn, Chipping, Bolton-by-Bowland, Slaidburn and Downham, would get this automated lifeline.

He said after the debate: "This government, in their ill-thought out legislation, are putting at risk the survival of our rural post offices."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.