§ Mr. HainTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if, following the planned privatisation of Parcelforce, members of the royal family will continue to receive free use of its services.
§ Mr. Leigh[holding answer 18 January 1993]: Following my right hon. Friend's announcement on 15 July of his intention to privatise Parcelforce, the arrangements for parcels services for the royal family is one of the many issues which will be studied carefully.
§ Mr. HainTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what is the total annual cost of free postage provided(a) to Her Majesty the Queen and (b) to each other individual member of the royal family so entitled.
§ Mr. Leigh[holding answer 18 January 1993]: The provision of free postage services to members of the royal family is primarily to enable the royal household to deal with mail from the public, congratulatory messages to mark diamond weddings and one hundredth birthdays, and to maintain communications when Her Majesty the Queen is out of London.
The Post Office has no statistics on the annual cost of these services which are provided, to a varying extent, to Her Majesty the Queen and 15 other members of the royal family.