§ 3.19 p.m.
§ Lord Orr-Ewing asked Her Majesty's Government:
§ Why it now takes eight days or more for holiday postcards mailed from European resorts to be delivered in the United Kingdom.
§ The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Trefgarne)My Lords, quality of service is an operational matter for the Post Office, but I understand that the aim is to deliver postcards within two days of their arriving in this country, which may of course have taken some time. The board is seeking bilateral agreements with major trading partners with a view to improving quality of service. An agreement has been concluded with Italy and discussions are under way with Spain.
§ Lord Orr-EwingMy Lords, it is nice, although very unusual, to be assured that anything in this country takes only two days to deliver from the time of arrival. That means that something like eight days are taken at the far end. Most of the postcards that we send back from our holiday resorts to our grandchildren and others generally arrive at least one week after we are back home from our holiday. I do not ask for a thorough investigation, but this aspect seems to be totally illogical. Iberia Airlines has 12 flights from Spain every single day. I phoned the company this morning and was told that each of those flights carries post into London Airport. Why therefore is delivery taking 10 days? It seems totally out of line with efficiency.
§ Lord TrefgarneMy Lords, I fear that my noble friend will have to address his question to the Spanish postal authorities.
§ Lord Hailsham of Saint MaryleboneMy Lord, is my noble friend aware that this is a very old problem which lies with foreign governments and postal services? He will not be aware (will he?) that in 1978 I received a postcard from Italy—this situation applies in particular to postcards—eight weeks after the person concerned had died.
§ Lord TrefgarneMy Lords, I am very sorry to hear that news from my noble and learned friend. The fact of the matter is that the United Kingdom postal service, for all its faults, is one of the best in Europe.
§ Viscount Montgomery of AlameinMy Lords, is my noble friend aware that the Royal Mail operates a special priority delivery service called Swiftair, which, so far as concerns France, unfortunately takes three days normally and frequently four days? Does he consider that that will be good enough in 1992 when we have a single European market?
§ Lord TrefgarneMy Lords, I certainly agree that rapid and effective postal services will be very desirable as we come to the completion of the single European market—even more desirable than they are now. Unfortunately the solution to the problem does not rest wholly in the hands of the British authorities.
§ Baroness Macleod of BorveMy Lords, perhaps I may suggest to the Minister than one solution would be if we all brought our postcards back with us and posted them in Europe.
§ Lord TrefgarneMy Lords, I tried that last year and received copious complaints about the wrong stamps.
§ Lord Williams of ElvelMy Lords, would the Minister enlighten the House as to the forum in Europe in which these matters can be discussed? Is there some kind of club of post offices that raises these points and decides upon them or is it all done between governments? How does it operate, if at all?
§ Lord TrefgarneMy Lords, as the noble Lord may be aware, there is the International Postal Union. However, the principal forum for discussing the necessary improvements in quality of service has been the bilateral forum. I referred to two areas in which some progress had been made.
§ Lord Williams of ElvelMy Lords, does the Minister agree that it is time to create some European Community forum? As he rightly points out, in 1992 this will be a serious problem.
§ Lord TrefgarneMy Lords, we are not short of European institutions of a variety of kinds. However, if the Commission wants to examine this matter it is at liberty to do so.
§ Baroness Gardner of ParkesMy Lords, will the Minister say whether it is just a European body that discusses these matters or whether there exists an international body? Moreover, is it taken into account that some letters—for example, those from Australia—appear to come much more quickly than those sent in the reverse direction because of the change in the different time zones across the world?
§ Lord TrefgarneMy Lords, in answer to an earlier supplementary question I referred to the International Postal Union, which is certainly a body with much wider concerns than simply Europe and which, so far as I know, includes our Australian friends.
Viscount St. DavidsMy Lords, will the Minister and the Government take great care that in 1992 we do not have a single European post office inflicted upon us?
§ Lord TrefgarneMy Lords, I am not aware of any such proposal.
§ Lord Orr-EwingMy Lords, does the Minister agree that it would not be out of place for him to initiate discussions in the IPU in the region of Western Europe? We are approaching 1992 and it is none too soon to begin to take action. Discussions on how we could speed up deliveries would be a useful initiative.
Since I tabled this Question I have been told that very often letters take seven days to deliver from the North of England to the South. There is a go-slow everywhere, not just in Western Europe. It exists in parts of this country. Is it not therefore necessary to reduce the size of the monopoly and the absoluteness of the current service?
§ Lord TrefgarneMy Lords, the responsibility for maintaining the standard of service rests with the Post Office and not with the Government, as I said in my initial Answer. The Post Office is clearly determined to improve the standard of service, which I think everyone agrees in some areas at least is not good enough.