§ 91. Mr. Hoggasked the Postmaster-General whether he will make a further statement with regard to the scheme for 350W sending food parcels from Australia, and the cost of postage.
§ Mr. Wilfred PalingI understand the hon. Member refers to the scheme inaugurated by the Lord Mayor of Sydney, New South Wales, whereby people in that State can arrange for gift food parcels to be delivered to friends and relatives in this country by addressing a label and paying 10s. The food, in tins, is shipped to this country in bulk to a depot on the outskirts of Trowbridge where it is made up into individual parcels to which the address labels, forwarded from New South Wales to the United Kingdom by air, are affixed. The parcels, which weigh between 7 lb. and 8 lb., are despatched by parcel post in the normal way. The postage is 1s. 1d. The Trowbridge depot, which embraces a special post office set up to handle this traffic, commenced operations on 1st December. About 27,000 parcels were despatched during the first two weeks. This scheme applies to New South Wales only. I understand other States of Australia run separate and different schemes, of which I have no detailed knowledge, but the parcels are not posted in this country.