§ 50. Miss Burtonasked the Minister of Defence whether, as it costs 16s. to send a 2 lb. packet by air to His Majesty's Forces in the Far East as compared with a cost of 4s. to Germany, he has now reached a decision on the desirability of initiating a flat rate for parcels up to this maximum weight for His Majesty's Forces overseas.
§ Mr. ShinwellI have considered the suggestion of a flat rate for parcels very carefully, but the cost would be prohibitive unless the present rates to Germany and other parts of Europe were raised appreciably, and I am afraid this would be quite impracticable. There is, however, already a standard charge of 3d. per ½oz. for small postal packets in the second-class mail up to a maximum weight of 2 lb. to all overseas destinations outside Europe. (For destinations112W in Europe the ordinary air letter rates for the Forces are cheaper than this.) The rate of 3d. per ½oz. means that a 2 lb. packet can be sent by air to the Far East for 16s. as against the civilian rate for a 2 lb. packet of 26s. 8d.
This concession has not, I understand, been very widely used hitherto; but if each man in the Far East were to receive only one such packet every year the additional cost to public funds would be about £90,000, and if he received one per month it would be £1,080,000. These concessions seem to me to represent a real effort to meet the reasonable needs of men serving overseas, and although I have every sympathy with the object my hon. Friend has in mind, I do not think, in view of the cost involved, that it would be possible to do more.