HL Deb 11 October 1971 vol 324 cc206-7
LORD ORR-EWING

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 they will draw the attention of the Post Office Board to the inconvenience caused, particularly to overseas visitors, by their refusal to allow postage stamps to be sold elsewhere than in post offices or sub-post offices, in contrast to the arrangements made in almost all other countries.]

LORD DENHAM

My Lords, since 1966, when licences to sell postage stamps were abolished, anyone has been free to sell postage stamps.

LORD ORR-EWING

My Lords, I am delighted that my noble friend has given a very satisfactory Answer indeed. I only hope that this publicity will make the stamps more readily available to overseas visitors—something which I should have thought would also be to the benefit of the revenue of the Post Office.

LORD STRABOLGI

My Lords, may I ask the Government what efforts they are making to see that this information is known?

LORD DENHAM

My Lords, as I think my noble friend has said, the fact that his Question has been on the Order Paper will give this matter a certain amount of publicity.

LORD PEDDIE

My Lords, would the noble Lord not agree that his reply needs a slight modification; in the sense that postage stamps can be sold only if they are sold without any profit?

LORD DENHAM

My Lords, I do not think my reply needs modification. My Answer did not imply that there was any profit involved.

LORD SLATER

My Lords, is the noble Lord not aware that it was because of agitation from Members of the other place that this decision was taken in 1966 whereby postage stamps could be sold at any general dealer's shop or anywhere else, and that the point raised by my noble friend behind me is one of the things to which some people take exception? But this is something which the Post Office Board themselves can look into after hearing the observations and comments which have been made by my noble friend.

LORD DENHAM

Yes, my Lords; I am sure that any information given on these matters by the noble Lord would be correct. I think the answer is that in any particular place where there is a public demand for postage stamps to be sold there would be enough commercial advantage to the place concerned to run this as a service.