§ 21. Mr. Bryanasked the Postmaster-General when he will announce the proposed increases in postal charges.
§ Mr. BryanDoes the right hon. Gentleman recall that when answering questions yesterday, he said that his future pricing policy would be based on a combination of the criteria of the prices and incomes policy and the policy laid down in the White Paper on the nationalised industries? Does not the scale of yesterday's charges prove once and for all that such a combination is an impossible contradiction as, indeed, was clearly stated in paragraph 14 of the Report of the Prices and Incomes Board?
§ Mr. MasonNo, Sir. As I said yesterday, the scale of these charges will affect the cost-of-living index only by.01 per cent.
§ Mr. CostainDoes the Postmaster-General appreciate that the rise in the cost of telephone charges puts a very serious handicap on the elderly? His predecessor was looking into the question of how elderly people could be helped with their telephone charges: will he give an assurance that he will continue in that way?