The plans to close the L'Islet post office have been deferred

Treasury and Resources Minister Lyndon Trott said he was looking at effects of the commercialisation of Guernsey Post, three years down the line.

Possible social obligations are a focus point of the review.

Mr Trott said he believed Guernsey Post should operate on a social footing and that recent losses could not simply be blamed on commercialisation.

If the usage of that particular facility increases it'll stand alone anyway Lyndon Trott

Last month, Guernsey Post announced losses of �800,000. It proposed the closure of L'Islet outlet at Sandy Hook to save at least �30,000 a year.

The closure was deferred after a protest by local residents, traders and consumer group Postwatch.

However, Mr Trott said he thought bailing out the L'Islet post office with public money was not necessarily the answer.

He said: "We may have gone far enough and it may well be that it is appropriate to have units such as this which are not contributing to the overall profitability and therefore to have a subsidy.

"But I don't think that's necessary in that if the usage of that particular facility increases it'll stand alone anyway, and I think that'll be the challenge for people in the area over the next six months."

Mr Trott added that the service's current framework for its operation did not include any social dimension.

Controlling prices

Guernsey Post said its Customer Charter had a continuing drive to improve services and to develop closer relationships with all customers.

Mr Trott said that despite the company's losses, a move to bring it back under States control was unlikely.

Meanwhile, the island's Office of Utility Regulation has laid out its plans for controlling the island's postal service for the next 18 months.

They include an extension of its powers so that in certain circumstances it can control Guernsey Post's prices even in sectors where the company does not have a monopoly.

The proposals also set the timetable for the review of Guernsey Post's prices, which are fixed until April 2006.