§ 10 and 11. Sir C. Osborneasked the Postmaster-General (1) if he will investigate the cause of a parcel posted in Grimsby on Monday 18th September at 10.15 a.m. not reaching Southampton until Saturday, 23rd September afternoon, details of which have been sent to him by the hon. Member for Louth; and if he will take steps to improve the service throughout North Lincolnshire;
(2) if he is aware that since the morning London mail train was diverted via Market Rasen from the East Lincolnshire line, postal delays have become unjustifiably long, as the evidence sent to him by the hon. Member for Louth shows; and if he will take immediate steps to speed mail deliveries to and from North Lincolnshire.
§ Mr. Joseph SlaterThe train services introduced two years ago have not worsened the postal services in North Lincolnshire. The great bulk of fully paid letters for this area is delivered on the next day after posting. The delay to the parcel for Southampton was probably caused by the industrial trouble on the railways. I regret I have been unable to discover the cause of the delay to the postcard which the hon. Member forwarded.
§ Sir C. OsborneIf it is not the change in railway facilities which has caused 1465 these additional delays, what on earth has caused them? My constituents in rural areas feel that they are being sacrificed for the money spent on people in the towns. Will the hon. Gentleman look at the rural position again?
§ Mr. SlaterYes, I have no objection to having another look at the position in this area, but I think that everyone will agree that isolated cases of delay are not proof of a deteriorating service. Our information is that the service has improved, and we expect it to improve much more.
§ Mr. KimballI hope that the hon. Gentleman will not allow the eloquence of my hon. Friend's request to lead him into making the changes suggested in Question No. 11, which might lead to a deter oration in the much improved service from which Market Rasen has benefited in the last six months.