THE Government has ended months of speculation over the future of a card account used by millions of people to receive benefits and pensions by re-awarding the contract to the Post Office Subpostmasters in Bolton feared their branches would close if the contract had been given to rival bidders.
But Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell yesterday told MPs the organisation would retain the business, with a new contract running for five years from 2010, with the possibility of an extension beyond that.
Bhavna Desai, a sub-postmaster from Kearsley who represents all the post offices in Bolton on the National Federation of Sub-postmasters, said businesses across the town would have folded if the contract had been awarded to rival bidders.
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