§ 8. Mr. Boyd-Carpenterasked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether he will now publish the full report into the efficiency of the Post Office by McKinsey and Company which was commissioned several years ago by the then Postmaster-General.
§ Mr. ChatawayNo, Sir. It is not the usual practice to publish such material, though my right hon. Friend will find a good deal of relevant information in Appendix 67 to the Select Committee on Nationalised Industries' First Report on the Post Office.
§ Mr. Boyd-CarpenterCan my right hon. Friend say why the public, who paid for this inquiry, who own the Post Office, and who are concerned about its efficiency, should not have the full information resulting from the inquiry so that they can judge whether steps are being taken to make the proper improvements?
§ Mr. ChatawayThere are two answers. First, McKinsey and Company were not, in this case, as in a number of others, given formal terms of reference and were not asked to produce a formal report. A good many of their recommendations were, therefore, in an oral form, and they are not particularly easy to publish. Secondly, managements, whether in the public or the private sector, might be in- 892 hibited in the use of consultants if they felt that the information that they gave and the recommendations which were made by the consultants would necessarily be published.
§ Mr. Gregor MackenzieCan the right hon. Gentleman say whether the McKinsey Report will be made available to members of the Post Office Workers Union and the other unions involved in the Post Office in order that they can make a proper assessment of their rôle.
§ Mr. ChatawayThat would be a flatter for the Post Office to decide.