Post Office (Hansard, 16 October 1969)

§ 3. Mr. Kenneth Baker
asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether he will publish a forecast of income and profitability for the Post Office Corporation for the next five years

§ 1. Mr. Biggs-Davison
asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications what complaints he has received of damage to publications, photographs, picture postcards and other mail due to the tying-up of post.

§ 7. Dame Irene Ward
asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will institute an inquiry into the postal services on Tyneside which are unsatisfactory and deteriorating.

§ 10. Mr. Judd
asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications what has been the number of private and business telephone subscribers on the Portsmouth Exchange in each of the past five years; what are the estimates for the current year; and whether he will make a statement.

§ Mr. Stonehouse
With permission, I will answer this Question and Questions Nos. 1, 7 and 10 together.

§ Dame Irene Ward
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. What is the common denominator between Question No. 1 and Question No. 7? Chigwell is a long way from Tynemouth.

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. That is not a point of order. The connection will no doubt appear in the Answer.

§ Mr. Arthur Lewis
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I had a letter from the Minister's Secretary this morning saying that he was to answer Question No. 1 with Question No. 4. Now he is to answer Question No. 1 although it has not been called as the hon. Member for Chigwell (Mr. Biggs-Davison) is not present. May I ask the Minister to honour his pledge and to answer my Question No. 4 with Question No. 1?

§ Mr. Speaker
That is a long question but the Minister will answer Question No. 4 as well.

§ Mr. Stonehouse
These matters are now for the Post Office, which became a public corporation on 1st October, 1969. I shall be answering Question No. 4 separately.

§ Mr. Driberg
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. Does what my right hon. Friend has just said mean that in future the Table will be debarring us from asking Questions on points of detail about the Post Office?

§ Mr. Speaker
I think the hon. Member for Barking (Mr. Driberg) has stated the position correctly. Mr. Baker, to ask a supplementary question.

§ Mr. Baker
May I put a point of order first? My Question refers to the very important question of forecasts of profits in the Post Office. Under Section 11(8) of the Post Office Act, which has just become law, the Minister has responsibility, not the Corporation, for the capital programme of the Post Office. One cannot determine the capital programme without knowing the forecasts of profit or loss for the next four or five years.

§ Mr. Speaker
Order. We cannot have long speeches. The point of order has been made.

§ Mr. Stonehouse
The financial objectives are set down by the Minister and it is for the Post Office Corporation Board to decide how those financial objectives are met.

§ Dame Irene Ward
In view of the Minister's statement, will he circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT exactly how this will differ from the position over Questions that we were allowed to ask of the Minister of Power when there was one and of the Minister of Transport as there still is one? We are still able to ask them whether they have inquiries into safety and all sorts of things. I find it very difficult unless the Minister will set out in detail what he proposes to do, I want to know whether nationalised corporations, or whatever they like to call themselves, will have different proce- 574 dures. If so, the House of Commons is entitled to be told.

§ Mr. Stonehouse
I am doing my best to assist the House. I think the best I can do is to refer to pages 472 to 478 of Volume II of the Select Committee Report, which gave in some detail the measures which hon. Members of this House can take to investigate the actions of authorities which have responsibility to the Ministers sponsoring them. The position will be that the Post Office will be on all fours with those.

§ Mr. Bryan
Does it not put the House in an awkward position when Members table Questions which appear on the Order Paper and therefore apparently are in order and then the Minister says that he will not answer them?

§ Mr. Speaker
As I have said before, the Table is governed on this issue by the behaviour of Ministers.

§ Mr. Baker
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. May I put a supplementary question? Previously I raised a point of order.

§ Mr. Speaker
I thought that the hon. Gentleman's point of order was long enough for a supplementary question.

§ Mr. Judd
On a point of order, Mr. Speaker. I believe I was present when Question No. 10 was called—

§ Mr. Speaker
The hon. Gentleman's Question was answered with Question No. 3. He cannot have been here.