The Post Office (Hansard, 7 July 1999)

§ Lord McIntosh of Haringey
My Lords, the Statement on the Post Office made by Peter Mandelson on 7th December last made it clear that at present wholesale privatisation would not be a realistic option. It would take a long time to introduce, cause massive uncertainty and diminish the chance of immediate reform. Further details on the full package of reforms will be announced in the White Paper on Post Office reform which the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry expects to publish tomorrow.

§ Baroness Seccombe
My Lords, I thank the Minister for his, as usual, courteous and helpful reply—although I am sure he will admit that on this occasion it was not very informative. Perhaps the Minister can assure the House of one matter which surely is not affected by any Statement on the Post Office. Will he reaffirm the undertaking that it will remain the Government's policy for the rest of this Parliament that there will continue to be one universal rate of postage, with daily collections and deliveries at no extra charge for remote rural areas?

§ Lord McIntosh of Haringey
My Lords, I always try to be courteous to the House. However, if I am informative, I apologise. I have no intention whatever of being informative when a Statement is being made tomorrow—and that applies to the noble Baroness's second question.

§ Lord Ewing of Kirkford
My Lords, I should declare an interest in that I am a national honorary life member of the Union of Communication Workers. Does my noble friend accept that there is absolutely no commitment in the Labour Party manifesto, on which we were elected to power on 1st May 1997, to privatise the Post Office or any part of it? Does he further accept that all the statements made between the 1st May 1997 and today have indicated that there is no intention to privatise any part of the Post Office? Can my noble friend assure me that that will continue to be the position of Her Majesty's Government?

§ Lord McIntosh of Haringey
My Lords, in my first Answer I quoted directly from the Statement made by Peter Mandelson on 7th December, which was that at present wholesale privatisation would not be a realistic option. That remains the position.

§ Lord Skelmersdale
My Lords, without revealing the details of any Statement which may or may not be made tomorrow, or of the White Paper which is to be published tomorrow, can the Minister say whether consideration has been given to changing the 877 Telecommunications Act so that the Post Office can not only, as now, receive items by electronic means, but also dispatch them by the same electronic means?

§ Lord McIntosh of Haringey
My Lords, that may or may not be one of the issues which will be covered in the White Paper tomorrow.

§ Lord Razzall
My Lords, does the Minister accept that the question of ownership of the Post Office is perhaps less relevant than the question of whether the Post Office can operate as a fully fledged commercial operation? Since the last Statement by his colleague in another place, is he satisfied that the Post Office has the power to have the appropriate pay structure in place to operate on an international scale, as it clearly seeks to do? Does he accept that there is inadequate transparency in the operations of the Post Office, in particular with regard to the prices that are being paid for international acquisitions?

§ Lord McIntosh of Haringey
My Lords, the noble Lord may think that; I cannot possibly comment.

§ Lord Mackay of Ardbrecknish
My Lords, whatever gloss the Minister puts on it either today or tomorrow in the Statement, is not the creation of a plc with share capital the first step on the route to privatisation? Before the noble Lord dismisses that question, perhaps he will discuss the matter with his noble friend Lord Simon of Highbury, who will confirm that that is the way BP was privatised. Are we not right in thinking that the Post Office will join the Tote, air traffic control and BNFL on the list of Labour's privatisations now that it is a convert to privatisation?

§ Lord McIntosh of Haringey
My Lords, the noble Lord is entitled to make any assumptions he likes about tomorrow's White Paper and Statement; I shall not add to his speculation.

§ Lord Skelmersdale
My Lords, does not the noble Lord accept that the question I asked was whether consideration has been given to a particular area of Post Office activity, not what the result of that consideration will be?

§ Lord McIntosh of Haringey
My Lords, subject to the Statement made on the 7th December, consideration is given to all options.

§ Lord Monson
My Lords, given that first-class letters habitually take two days to cross London and that correctly addressed letters are being delivered to the wrong addresses with increasing frequency, can the Minister say what steps are being taken to improve Post Office efficiency?

§ Lord McIntosh of Haringey
My Lords, if that question is relevant to the original Question, I shall not answer it.

§ Lord Ezra
My Lords, in view of the White Paper being published tomorrow, I realise how difficult it is to 878 ask the Minister a question. None the less, does he agree that the Post Office has performed extremely well in recent years? Does he further agree that this area has become a competitive market, with other post offices around the world building their businesses? Whatever may or may not be in the White Paper, is it not desirable that the Post Office in Britain should be put in the same position?

§ Lord McIntosh of Haringey
My Lords, it is not at all difficult either to answer or to fail to answer these questions. I agree with the noble Lord, Lord Ezra, in his first statement; the Post Office has done a good job.

§ Baroness Knight of Collingtree
My Lords, does not the Minister concede that what he has told the House this afternoon is in direct contrast to what the Prime Minister said yesterday?

§ Lord McIntosh of Haringey
My Lords, I do not think he dealt with this.

§ Lord Ewing of Kirkford
My Lords, can my noble friend explain what he means by "no wholesale privatisation"? What does the word "wholesale" mean in that context?

§ Lord McIntosh of Haringey
My Lords, if I have said anything new, it was entirely unintentional. The words "wholesale privatisation" were spoken by Peter Mandelson on 7th December. I assume "wholesale" means the whole of the range of Post Office services. My noble friend could have asked that question on 7th December.