SUB-POSTMASTERS have given a cautious welcome to an offer of £2 million of government cash to help open more post offices.

Although they said any initiatives to keep existing post offices, or encourage new ones to open, were welcome, they wanted to know if the cash would reach them.

Industry minister Alan Johnson has announced immediate measures to make it easier to establish new post offices, which he said would particularly help rural areas.

As previously reported by the Gazette, sub-postmasters are worried about the effect of a move to allow benefit payments to be made directly into bank and building society accounts from 2003.

They fear they will lose a large chunk of their income.

The minister's announcement includes a government fund to help with the costs of relocating and refurbishing rural post offices.

The money would support initiatives to maintain or reopen post office facilities in areas where the traditional post office is closing.

The minister said this could help establish up to 200 community post offices in the UK.

From April 1, an introductory payment required from new sub-postmasters taking on an office will be removed, and the minister also announced a new senior role in the Post Office to oversee the network's interests.

Jackie Semple, who is treasurer of the Cumbria branch of the National Federation of Sub-postmasters, and sub-postmistress at Kirkby Stephen, said any help was good news.

"Having said that we have heard it all before, and let's have some real information about it," she said.

"I'm relocating my post office, and it's a direct result of the ongoing troubles, and I have not been offered any help."

Mrs Semple said she was moving the post office from Victoria Square to Market Street to enable her to include a much bigger retail side to her business, before the benefit payment changes came into force.

Sub-postmasters would be keen to know how they could get access to the government cash, she added.

Her views were supported by Brough sub-postmistress and fellow Cumbria branch federation member Pat Jones: "It's a brilliant idea but often these things never quite get to the people who it's designed to help."

Mrs Jones said cash was sometimes ring-fenced so it could not be used where it was really needed.