§ 8. Mr. Hileyasked the Postmaster-General what estimate he has made of the saving to the Post Office resulting from the use of franking machines; and if he will consider allowing a discount to such users.
§ Mr. Joseph SlaterWe estimate that, on average, the saving to the Post Office is one-sixth of a penny per item: my right hon. Friend cannot agree to allow a discount.
§ Mr. HileyI thank the hon. Gentleman for that reply, but is he aware that this suggestion has been made to me as a result of the great burden which will have to be borne by industry and commerce on Monday next? Does not he think that he should look at this again, because if such a reduction were made, it could well be that the saving to the Post Office would be considerably greater than he suggests?
§ Mr. SlaterThe hon. Gentleman's observations will be borne in mind, but at the moment we believe that we could not justify giving rebates to postage meter users without doing the same for people who pay large amounts of postage in cash or who buy stamps in large quantities at a time.