The government is to roll out hundreds more Post Office parcel drop boxes, taking the total to 1,000, as part of five cost-of-living measures announced by HM Treasury ahead of the Budget on 28 October.
The drop boxes let customers send and return parcels without queuing at a Post Office counter. The Treasury said the roll-out is intended to ease errands in the run-up to Christmas. It comes alongside upgrades to 600 Post Office branches by the end of the financial year.
Trade reports of the Prime Minister’s announcement put the timeline at 500 branches with drop boxes by the end of 2026 and a further 500 before April 2027. The government’s own release gives the total of 1,000 but does not set out the phasing.
The same package removes import tariffs on more than 100 products, including baked beans, chocolate-coated wafers, boiled sweets, toffees, citrus jams and plant-based drinks, as well as kerosene and fertilisers. The Treasury said that, together with tariff suspensions already in place, households could save up to £21 a year on their food shop. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the BBC the combined suspensions would save around £500 million a year.
The other measures announced are:
- Making the 55p per mile tax-free mileage rate permanent for the first 10,000 business miles, with the rate above 10,000 miles rising from 25p to 35p.
- Extending two weeks of parental pay, currently worth up to £194 a week, to more than 150,000 additional parents a year, including self-employed fathers and partners.
- Replacing the Carer’s Allowance earnings cliff edge with a taper, so £1 of support is withdrawn for every additional £1 earned above the limit.
Separately, on 23 October the Treasury announced it was extending import tariff suspensions on more than 250 products used by businesses, saving up to £155 million a year, as part of a wider package of red tape cuts.
Chancellor John Healey will deliver the Budget on Wednesday 28 October.
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