The Royal Mail: Newspaper Delivery Charges (Hansard, 21 March 1995)

The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Earl Ferrers)
My Lords, the price charged 1129 to newsagents by Royal Mail for delivery of newspapers to households in rural areas is a commercial matter for the Post Office. I understand that no final decision has yet been reached on any revised charges for that service.

§ Lord Mackie of Benshie
My Lords, I thank the Minister for that Answer, and in particular the reference to no decision having yet been made. That is not what was told to the three newsagents of Kirriemuir by the local area supervisor. Is the Minister aware that in 1989–90, the Post Office made £116 million and in 1993–94 it made £306 million? Is he aware also that the Post Office is a public service and that commercial considerations in country areas surely cannot require the price of delivering newspapers, which is an extremely essential service, to double or perhaps even treble in the near future? Have the Government inflicted that amount of inflation on this country?

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, I am glad to know that the Questions tabled by the noble Lord, Lord Mackie of Benshie, are stimulated by his newsagents in Kirriemuir. Prices have been held steady for seven years. It is wrong for one part of the Royal Mail to carry out works which are not part of the monopoly and which are subsidised by services which are part of the monopoly. Therefore, it is quite right that charges should be reviewed periodically. The noble Lord, Lord Mackie, refers to "double" or "treble". As I told him in my original Answer, no decision has been taken.

§ Lord Molloy
My Lords, will the noble Earl bear in mind the remarkable role which the free press plays in this country? Should not the Government be rather apprehensive about anything which may be interpreted as even a minor financial threat to that free press?

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, I agree with the noble Lord that we have a remarkable free press in this country, but the prices that are charged for the delivery of the service is a matter for the Post Office.

§ Lord Peston
My Lords, am I right in thinking that the noble Earl is saying that this is a matter solely for the Post Office and is nothing at all to do with the Government, but that he happens to know that the Post Office has not yet made up its mind? Is he saying that it is nothing to do with the Government but they know what is going on?

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Peston, must not try to bowl me fast balls like that. I had a great temptation to answer the noble Lord, Lord Mackie of Benshie, by saying that this is a commercial matter for the Post Office. That was the answer which my noble friend Lord Denham used to give many years ago when he was asked questions about the Post Office. But in this case, I felt that this would be a discourtesy and so I gave a fuller answer. I should be grateful if the noble Lord, Lord Peston, would not chivy me for my courtesy in giving that full Answer.

§ Lord Peston
My Lords, I am delighted with the noble Earl's reply. I forgot to say how much I echo his thoughts about our press. I am very much with him on that. If the noble Lord, Lord Mackie of Benshie, asks the Question 1130 again when the true facts of the increase are put forward, shall we still be told that the Government know nothing about it or will not say anything about it? I cannot believe that when the facts come out, the noble Lord, Lord Mackie of Benshie, will leave this matter alone.

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, I am quite sure that the noble Lord, Lord Mackie of Benshie, has at heart the interests of the House and will not ask questions of Ministers to which it is not the responsibility of Ministers to reply. I am sure that he will address his questions to the body which is competent to answer them; namely, the Royal Mail.

§ Lord Mackie of Benshie
My Lords, the Minister has treated this Question rather lightly. The three newsagents of Kirriemuir are merely an illustration of what is happening in country areas. Will the noble Earl admit that Rowland Hill's spirit is not entirely dead? The Post Office has a public duty to provide a service which does not pay because it balances out throughout the country. I should have thought that even this Government would adhere to that principle.

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, I am sorry that the noble Lord, Lord Mackie, feels that I am treating this matter lightly. I thought that I was treating it seriously because I gave him a more comprehensive reply than I might otherwise have done. But the noble Lord, Lord Mackie of Benshie, is at fault, which is unusual, because the Post Office has a monopoly for delivering letters where the postage is less than £1. The delivery of newsagents' materials is not subject to a monopoly. It may well be that those who could supply that service would complain if the Post Office provided the service at a subsidised rate.