§ Lord Boyd-Carpenter asked Her Majesty's Government:
§ In what districts the Post Office has now introduced Sunday collections.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Employment (Lord Strathclyde)My Lords, I understand that Sunday collections have now been introduced in Edinburgh, Newcastle, Darlington, Cardiff, Belfast, Gloucester, Perth, Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen, Carlisle, Bolton and Nottingham postal districts.
§ Lord Boyd-CarpenterMy Lords, I thank my noble friend for that somewhat miscellaneous reply. Will he tell the House when it is anticipated that that service will cover the whole country?
§ Lord StrathclydeMy Lords, the Post Office now expects Sunday collections to be available nation-wide by the autumn.
§ Lord Williams of ElvelMy Lords, will the noble Lord give the House an assurance that the bringing into force of Sunday collections throughout the country will not affect the service from Monday to Saturday? Is he aware of the suspicion that Sunday collections will simply reduce the resources available for proper deliveries on Monday to Saturday? The Union of Communication Workers is worried about the matter. We look forward to an assurance from the Minister.
§ Lord StrathclydeMy Lords, the noble Lord is a great doubter of the Post Office's ability to provide a good service. I have no doubt that he is aware that the Post Office is committed to an average 3 per cent. peformance improvement this year. That includes Sundays and of course Mondays to Saturdays.
§ Lord KinnairdMy Lords, is the Minister aware that I received a letter yesterday morning—
§ Lord Kinnaird—which was posted on 12th December 1989?
§ Lord StrathclydeMy Lords, we all have stories to tell of how bad the Post Office's service sometimes is, but generally speaking it is a good service and is continually improving.
§ Lord MellishMy Lords, to put the point on the record, is the Minister aware that some of us dread the idea of letters being put through our letterbox on Sundays?
§ Lord StrathclydeMy Lords, I am afraid that the noble Lord has missed the point. We are talking about Sunday collections, not Sunday deliveries.