§ 22. Mr. A. Royleasked the Postmaster-General if he will seek to make an ex-gratia payment to Mrs. C. J. Parker in compensation for the consequential loss of £114 suffered by the constituent of the hon. Member for Richmond, Surrey, due to devaluation and the misdelivery of a letter addressed to Mrs. Parker.
§ Mr. Joseph SlaterNo, Sir. To do so would open the door to an unlimited compensation liability which we could not possibly take on.
§ Mr. RoyleWould the hon. Gentleman look at this again? Is he aware that my constituent has lost a large sum of money solely due to mismanagement of the economy by the Government, ending with devaluation, and the inefficiency of the Post Office in the misdelivery of a letter? Will he look at the matter again and provide an ex-gratia payment for my constituent?
§ Mr. SlaterI have gone into this matter, and I have looked at it again to see what could be done. I must point out, however, that we handle 35 million items every day and, although only a small percentage is mishandled, we could not pay compensation for every unregistered letter which was delayed.
§ Mr. RoyleIn view of the thoroughly unsatisfactory nature of that reply, I beg to give notice that I shall seek to raise the matter on the Adjournment at the earliest opportunity.