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<p>Post Office Ltd, with its network of over 11,500 branches, is well placed to become
a provider of front office services for Government, helping citizens interact with
Government either face-to-face or online.</p><p> </p><p>While public services must
be competitively tendered, Post Office Ltd has shown that it can very effectively
bid for and win new work. It has won every Government contract it has bid for the
past three years in highly competitive tendering processes.</p><p> </p><p>In particular,
in 2012 it successfully bid for the competitively-tendered DVLA framework contract
for Front Office Counter Services (FOCS). This contract runs to 2020 and is available
to other Government departments. For example HM Passport Office recently moved its
services with Post Office Ltd onto FOCS and this Department and the Cabinet Office
are in close contact about a range of other opportunities.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Furthermore,
Post Office Ltd was recently one of the successful bidders for the Cabinet Office's
online identity assurance contract, ensuring that Post Office Ltd can play a role
in the delivery of modern, online Government services.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst I continue
to highlight to my colleagues the opportunities available to Government from using
the Post Office network and contracts such as these, individual contracts are a matter
for the services in question and their respective public bodies and departments. I
have not had recent discussions specifically with the Northern Ireland Executive.</p>
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