§ 7 and 8. Mr. D. Smithasked the Postmaster-General (1) what his estimate is of the proportion of the population in the Greater London area who do not receive their main postal delivery before 8.30 a.m.;
(2) if he will ensure that every effort is made in normal weather conditions to complete the main postal delivery in large towns and cities by 9 a.m.
§ Mr. MawbyAt a very rough estimate, about one-third of the population in the Greater London area do not receive their main postal delivery before 8.30 a.m. To ensure completion of the first delivery by 9 a.m. in all large towns and cities would involve heavy expenditure which my right hon. Friend does not feel would be justified.
§ Mr. SmithWill my hon. Friend bear in mind that the vast majority of the working population leaves home before 8.30 in the morning and therefore people cannot possibly deal with their mail until the evening? Will he confirm that before the war there was a postal delivery before 8 a.m.? Is it not time that something was done to bring things up to date?
§ Mr. MawbyThe whole object of the exercise is to try to make certain that mail is delivered at the most convenient time to the customer, but obviously we have to take into account the arrangements which we must make for postmen, the movement of mails and the fact that one cannot deliver earlier without arranging that mails can be sorted earlier, which would involve a good deal of additional expenditure. We therefore believe that our aim, which, in the main, is kept, is fair and maintains a reasonable balance between the staff of the Post Office, facilities and the customer.