§ Mr. Michael Forsythasked the Secretary of State for Energy what use his Department makes of the private 388W sector for the movement of parcels, packages, documents and letters; and if he will estimate the proportion of his Department's mail handled in this way.
§ Mr. Peter WalkerMy Department makes no use of private sector mail services at present, although the cost effectiveness of doing so, taking into account weight, volume, security and urgency, is kept under review. Some possibilities have been examined but have not been found to meet these criteria in the particular circumstances involved. Eighty-five per cent. of my Department's staff of around 1,100 are housed in one building. The scope for using private sector mail services for internal communications would therefore in any case be very limited.