HC Deb 03 April 1947 vol 435 c365W
Sir I. Fraser

asked the Secretary of State for War whether his attention has been drawn to the high percentage of losses and thefts of parcels sent home by members of the Forces from France and elsewhere on the Continent; whether, in view of this, he is prepared to relax the regulation which does not allow the registration of parcels weighing more than 4½ lb. and whether, to avoid pilfering, he will arrange that duty-free labels and declarations of contents of parcels shall be placed inside instead of on the wrapper.

Mr. Bellenger

I am not aware of any widespread loss of parcels posted by the Forces in Europe which would justify the introduction of additional registered parcel facilities. The purpose of duty-free and declaration of contents labels is to facilitate clearance through Customs, and this object would not be attained if the labels were placed inside the parcels.