HL Deb 19 December 1966 vol 278 cc1831-4

2.44 p.m.

LORD REDMAYNE

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether it is proposed that under the £—cent—½ system of decimalisation the Post Office Savings Bank should disregard the half cent for accounting purposes; and in respect of what other services provided by the Post Office the same practice will be followed; and further, what will be the face value of the equivalent of the 4d. postage stamp under this system.]

BARONESS PHILLIPS

My Lords, my right honourable friend has not yet decided whether the half new penny will be used for Post Office, including Savings Bank, accounting. It is too early for him to predict what postal charges will be in 1971. Their overall pattern will, as usual, be designed to meet the financial target applying at the time.

LORD REDMAYNE

My Lords, while thanking the noble Baroness for that reply, may I ask her whether she is aware that the commercial world will watch with very great interest whether the Government inflict on the Post Office the same handicaps and anomalies which are going to be inflicted on private enterprise and on commerce in respect of the differences which are going to arise between cash accounting and banking accounts? The noble Lady says that it is too early for these decisions to be made, but will the Government realise that this decision must be made within the next two or three months if the necessary preparatory work is to be done? Unless the Government are, if I may say so, rather arrogantly assuming their decision to adopt the £1 unit to be the final decision that is going to be made—

NOBLE LORDS: Question!

LORD REDMAYNE

I think I have put one, my Lords. Secondly, may I ask this? If one is to assume, as one must, that the face value of the 4d. stamp will be two new pennies (which is going to put up the cost of a 4d. stamp by 20 per cent.), what is the sense in saying in paragraph 29 of Cmnd. 3164 that the Government and the Decimal Currency Board will make every effort to prevent this kind of exploitation"? Or is one to expect that we shall have one law for the Government and another for private enterprise?

BARONESS PHILLIPS

My Lords, I am afraid I have nothing to add to the statement I have made except one possible addition. The noble Lord will remember that by that time, in any case, the Post Office will of course be a separate corporation, which must influence some of the decisions taken. But I shall convey to the Minister the comments which the noble Lord has made on the need for work to begin as soon as possible.

LORD REDMAYNE

My Lords, may I put this further question to the noble Lady? Is not the question of whether the Post Office is under the Government or is a private organisation quite irrelevant? Surely, if it becomes a private organisation it will suffer the same handicaps as private industry.

THE LORD PRIVY SEAL (THE EARL OF LONGFORD)

My Lords, I think there were a number of Members of the House who were beginning to feel that the noble Lord was making a series of comments rather than putting questions. I am now quite sure that he has just passed over the line.

BARONESS ELLIOT OF HARWOOD

My Lords, may I ask the Government whether there is not some evidence that, in valuing up the new currency, prices with inevitably rise? This is a very difficult point, but if a postage stamp is going to be much more expensive, this is one of the ways in which prices are hound to rise. Will the Government not reconsider this question of the 10s. versus the £1 unit?

BARONESS PHILLIPS

I am sure the noble Lady will appreciate that I can hardly make a statement of that kind, either agreeing or disagreeing. The financial factors operating when decimal currency finally comes into common use may be quite different from those of to-day. If the noble Baroness would like to put down a Question to Her Majesty's Government on those lines, she might get fuller details.

LORD RATHCAVAN

My Lords, in connection with our going over to decimal currency, can the noble Lady say whether the Government are keeping in close touch with the Government of Australia, which has recently gone over to decimal currency?

BARONESS PHILLIPS

Yes, my Lords. My right honourable friend is, of course, watching their experience because obviously this will be some pointer for our thinking in the future.