I WELCOME the government announcement that £370 million of funding will be made available to the Post Office for the period between April 2018 and March 2021.

This will secure the future of the Post Office and enable it to continue to invest in its network, products and meeting the changing needs of customers.

Some £210 million is to be invested in the modernisation of the UK’s Post Office Network so it can continue to provide essential services.

The Post Office will also be working to bring additional benefits to customers, such as extended opening hours, modernised branches and shorter queue times.

I would like to thank the hard working postmen and women for the hard work they do all year round, as well as for going the extra mile to ensure that Christmas cards and presents are delivered to loved ones on time.

Local post offices form the heart of so many local communities with many people relying on their local branch in order to access important services.

Indeed, The Association of Convenience Stores’ Local Shop Report 2017 found that post offices have the most positive impact on a local area of any type of shop.

At a time when our high streets our changing, the Government is working hard to ensure that Post Offices remain on our high streets.

It is gratifying to see that the Post Office is the most stable it has been in decades, following the £2 billion that has been invested in it by the Conservative government since 2010.

Nus Ghani is Wealden MP