TEMPORARY Post Office closures are not "defined by time", according to the privatised firm's banking director.

There are currently four temporary closures in place in North East Fife alone despite increased use of the Post Office network for banking and other business during the pandemic.

Martin Kearsley told MPs on the Scottish Affairs Committee that such shut-downs are "less defined by time and more defined to 'are we trying to find someone to take on that location?'".

He said the Fife closures, caused by the decision by CJ Lang to axe the counters in its Spar shops last year, are "regrettable" but work continues to find long-term solutions for these sites and others. Kearsley highlighted the pending reopening of a branch in Balintore, Easter Ross, and explained that website ads for the North East Fife vacancies had been renewed.

That constituency's MP, LibDem Wendy Chamberlain, asked why there is currently an increase in temporary closures. Kearsley, who was giving evidence to the committee on access to cash in Scotland in the light of local bank closures, said: "There is an extremely challenging environment, as of the high street right now.

"It is very, very difficult for many postmasters to make a good business out of the mix of the post office and the other business that they may well run in their in their convenience store or in their whatever their business happens to be.

READ MORE: The Scottish genius who deserves credit for inventing postage stamps

"Our number one priority is really to make sure that those postmasters across the country, we give them every support we can to help them benefit not just their Post Office business but the other retail outlet that they may be running in a joint premises."

Citing the example of Kingussie, where a new postmaster is now in place, he said that branch has been "extremely busy", with banking as "a significant driver for her business".

He went on: "We know that there are services which absolutely are needed, especially to as I mentioned rural or urban deprived areas. So it is by focusing on those transactions, that business – banking payments, ATMs – to try and make sure that those communities and the Post Offices running them have got the very best chance of making success of having those services.

"Whilst all of our others continue to do well, we know there are pressures on formal post, we know there's pressures on parcels through the through the year, depending on what time of year it is, so seasonal business has it's changes, banking is solid all the way through each year and that's a bedrock business for most postmasters."

Earlier the committee heard that there has been an increase in the number of younger people now using Post Office banking services and "a massive increase in the amount of cash both coming in and going out in Scotland in particular".