§ Mrs. Ray MichieTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what representations he has received regarding the review of the Post Office; when his Department is expected to announce the findings of the review; what consultation his Department has undertaken with other countries during the review; what has been the total cost to date of the review exercise; what is the total number of staff employed and resources devoted to the exercise; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. McLoughlinWe have received numerous representations on the subject of the Post Office review, including from the Post Office itself, hon. Members, members of the public, other customers of the Post Office, trade unions and other interested parties.
No decisions on the review have yet been taken. We shall make an announcement when they are.
In the course of the review Ministers and officials have looked at the experience of a number of countries in the postal sector, including among others the Republic of Ireland, Sweden, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Australia and Canada.
I gave the outturn costs for consultancy work on the Post Office review and the sale of Parcelforce in 1992–93 to the hon. Member for Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Central (Mr. Brown), Official Report, 5 November 1993, column 513–14.
I gave the figures for the staff employed on the review in my Department in the reply to the hon. Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice), Official Report, 25 November 1993, column 111.