§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the President of the Board of Trade what assessment he has made of the implications of the introduction of optical character recognition equipment in sorting offices for employment levels in the Posit Office.
§ Mr. McLoughlinMy right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade has made no assessment of the210W implications of the introduction of optical character recognition in sorting offices for employment levels in the Post Office as this is an operational matter for the Post Office board. I understand from the Post Office that any reduction in staffing levels to date has been achieved without compulsory redundancies and that it hopes to continue on this basis.