§ Mr. Hoosonasked the Postmaster-General why, in his plan for reorganising the Post Office, he has not treated Wales as one country.
§ Mr. Edward ShortWhen, in 1939, the United Kingdom was divided into 10 Regions for managerial control of Post Office business, the considerations which determined the regional boundaries were economic, technical and operational. Economic because the political boundary of Wales would not make for such an efficient unit as the boundary chosen; technical because the trunk network had developed across the political boundary on account of geographical features; operational because the best road and rail transport facilities for both plant and mails run across the political boundary. Parts of Cheshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire were therefore added to Wales to make up a more efficient Region, the whole being controlled by the Director of Wales and Border Counties in Cardiff.
In splitting this Region into four Telephone Areas, similar considerations led to the creation of one Area across the North, one spanning the middle and two in the South. The choice of Headquarters towns (Cardiff, Swansea, Shrewsbury and Chester) within these Areas had regard to the main centres of telephone business.
These arguments have added force today since it would now be even more expensive to ignore the further development of the trunk network and of the mails distribution system which has taken place since 1939. The recent decision to split the Post Office into separate Postal and Telecommunications businesses in no way affects the principles which determine the most efficient territorial boundaries of Post Office Regions.