THE Government has finally replied to the Evening Press, three months after we handed over a 1,000-name petition to Downing Street in support of North Yorkshire's post offices.

Our Counter Attack campaign collected support from across North and East Yorkshire from customers wanting to save their local post offices.

People were worried that post offices were under threat because of plans to pay benefits directly into bank accounts instead of over post office counters.

In June, the Government announced its rescue plan to safeguard the country's post-office network and Tony Blair laid out his plans in the Evening Press.

The Evening Press has now finally received a reply in response to the petition from the Department of Trade and Industry.

Miss M Spoor, of the Postal Services Directorate, said: "Both the Government and Post Office Counters Ltd (POCL) are committed to the maintenance of a nationwide network of post offices and are very aware of the importance of post offices as a focal point of their local communities, particularly in rural areas for the elderly and less mobile."

She gave details of the Universal Bank proposed by the Government which she said would enable those people currently without bank accounts to continue to be able to access their benefits in cash at a post office counter.

Pensioners using it would receive a Post Office smart card to access their payments rather than an order book.

A new computer system being introduced would enable the Post Office to extend its arrangements with High Street banks, she said.