HC Deb 17 November 1971 vol 826 cc395-7
6. Mr. Charles R. Morris

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether he will make a statement on his proposals for increasing postal charges and economies in the postal services.

23. Mr. Goodhart

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications whether he will make a statement about his proposals for increasing postal charges and economies in the postal services.

34. Mr. William Hamilton

asked the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications if he will make a statement on proposed increases in postal charges.

Mr. Chataway

I have made no proposals but the Post Office has now put its proposals, to which I referred in my answer of 3rd November to my hon. Friend the Member for Stratford-on-Avon (Mr. Maude) to the Post Office Users National Council for study. Neither the Govenment nor the Post Office is committed to them until the Council's comments are received.—[Vol. 825, c. 2.]

Mr. Morris

If the Post Office accepts all the proposals for restructuring the postal services, including the proposal for 25,000 redundancies, will not there still be a shortfall of £130 million on the statutory five-year financial target of the Post Office? Why do not the Post Office and the Minister take the nation into their confidence and tell it that there is to be another increase in postal charges in August of next year?

Mr. Chataway

There are no proposals for a postal increase at any definite date ahead, though clearly the Post Office is not insulated from rising costs and nobody would pretend that it is. There are no proposals for 25,000 redundancies. The proposals that the Post Office has made would mean over the rest of the decade a reduced number of jobs, but these would be dealt with almost entirely by natural wastage.

Mr. Goodhart

I appreciate that the Post Office cannot be insulated from inflationary pressures, but will my right hon. Friend try to ensure that any increase in charges is matched by the removal of bureaucratic restrictions which irritate customers? My right hon. Friend will be aware that I am referring to the absurd rule that no more than five words of conventional greeting can be written on an unsealed Christmas card going overseas.

Mr. Chataway

I am sure that the Post Office will take note of my hon. Friend's general point. As to the specific matter about which he is concerned, I understand that this is an international regulation governing the international printed paper rate. I am sure that the next time these matters come up for discussion at the Universal Postal Union, the Post Office will take account of my hon. Friend's views.

Mr. Hamilton

Can the Minister give a categorical assurance that there will be no increase in postal charges within the next 12 months? Will he further state that if what we read in the Press is true, the quality of the services that he and the Post Office intend to provide in future will be worse than those provided in the days of Rowland Hill?

Mr. Chataway

I cannot give the hon. Gentleman that assurance, but I can tell him that if the 19 per cent. pay claim had been conceded, allied to a refusal to discuss further productivity measures, which the hon. Gentleman and his hon. Friends were supporting only a few months ago, the tariff increases and the reduction in services would have had to be very substantial indeed.

Mr. Richard

The Minister cannot evade his responsibilities by first trying to abuse the Opposition and, second, by saying that they are not his proposals. We all know that technically they are not his proposals. What is his attitude to the proposals? Is he in favour of them or against them?

Mr. Chataway

It is a pity that the hon. and learned Gentleman did not read my earlier statement which said that the Government had been consulted and agreed that the Post Office should put forward these proposals for consideration by the users council. When we have the opinions of the users council on the number of different alternatives which have been put forward by the Post Office, a decision will be reached.

Mr. Richard

Again the Minister has not answered the question. Does he think that the proposals for tariff increases and reductions in services are justified? It is a simple question.

Mr. Chataway

I have told the hon. and learned Gentleman that from a number of alternatives which have been put to the users council we shall decide subsequently in the light of the users council's views. Surely the hon. and learned Gentleman cannot object to the Government adopting a procedure whereby they try to discover what users want before reaching a decision.