§ Mr. Deakinsasked the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what information he has about the comparative rate of delivery on time of letters addressed using postal codes and other letters.
§ Mr. TrippierThe latest figures available are for the period January to December 1983, and are as follows:
Overall Quality of Service Post Code Given Post Code Not Given First Class* 87.9 87.7 88.2 Second Class† 93.3 92.7 93.7 * Delivery by the first working day after collection. † Delivery by the third working day after collection. These figures are misleading in that they do not take account of the fact that there is a tendency not to quote post codes on local items. (33 per cent. of first class mail and 37.4 per cent. of second class mail not showing post codes were local, within a headpostmasters area). When the figures are corrected for distance the figures are:
Post Code Given Post Code Not Given First Class 88.5 87.1 Second Class 93.4 93.1 Post Office staff have always tried to achieve their performance targets whether or not mail is postcoded. Post codes are an essential element of the Post Office's programme to modernise the postal service and enable them to achieve those targets more efficiently and economically. Their use is therefore important if the Post Office is to continue to provide the services its customers want at a reasonable price. Any improvement in quality of service which results from post code usage is therefore a bonus rather than the primary aim.