§ 112. Mr. Jannerasked the Postmaster-General how many additional staff he has recruited to post offices to give out the new basic petrol coupons; and what was the approximate time each person has had to wait in a queue in London and in the provinces during the first four days when coupons were available.
Dr. HillIt is not possible to obtain the detailed information for which the hon. Member has asked without disproportionate expense. As was to be expected in an operation of this kind, some queuing was inevitable. But we have used, for distribution of petrol ration books, the staff and organisation built up to meet the first rush of premium-bonds; and these, combined with the hard work of the counter staffs and the patience and goodwill on both sides of the counter, have ensured a successful start to this very large-scale operation. Some 4 million 51W ration books were available at post offices and local taxation offices on 22nd November, and a further 1¼ million have been issued to them since then. No exact figures of the number of books actually issued to the public are available, but it seems that the back of the task has been broken.