§ Mr. Arthur Lewisasked the Secretary of State for Social Services why his Department used envelopes measuring 15in. x 10in. to despatch to all Members letters sent on 4 December concerning ministerial correspondence when he could have used ordinary foolscap envelopes; what was the cost of dispatching the larger envelopes; and whether he will arrange for economies in the future.
§ Mr. Patrick JenkinThe larger envelopes were used because the enclosures sent to many hon. Members would not easily fit in smaller ones. The cost—excluding postage—of using the large buff envelopes was about £16; to have used while foolscap envelopes of the type normally used for letters to hon. Members would have cost about £24.50—excluding postage. It is not possible to estimate the cost of conveying the letters—by departmental van—to the House; but I do not think it would have been significantly different had smaller envelopes been used. I always encourage my Department to do things in an efficient and economic way; using larger envelopes reduced the staff time spent on this exercise. Moreover, I believe the cost of this exercise will be more than justified by an improved service to hon Members and more efficient use of my Department's resources.