§ 9. Mr. Peter Freemanasked the Assistant Postmaster-General what would be the cost to the Exchequer of reducing the cost of postage on postcards from 2d. to 1d.; and what is the estimated total number of postcards handled annually, printed and written, separately.
§ Mr. BurkeThe immediate cost of the reduction would be about £1,250,000, but I should not expect the ultimate cost to be less than £3,000,000, as traffic would be diverted from letters at the 2½d. rate. The present annual level of postcard traffic at the 2d. rate is some 300,000,000: I am afraid no figures are available about cards sent at the printed paper penny rate.
§ Mr. FreemanAs it will be no doubt obvious from my hon. Friend's answer to Question No. 11 that the Post Office have made a big profit, cannot he make a reduction of a penny?