§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the President of the Board of Trade if he will state his reasons for refusing each of the requests made by the Post Office for permission to pursue commercial initiatives listed in its supplementary memoranda to the Select Committee on Trade and Industry, which were published on pages 31–2 of its first report on the future of the Post Office, HC 207, 1993–94.
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§ Mr. McLoughlin[holding answer 25 May 1994]: The Post Offices requests, some of which date back many years, were to expand its activities, often into areas already served by the private sector. As my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade explained in his evidence to the Select Committee reproduced in the same report as that cited by the hon. Member, the Government need to consider the effect that greater commercial freedom for a publicly owned business would have on other firms. A number of businesses made clear to the Select Committee their concerns about the fairness of competition, as the Committee recognised at paragraph 20 of its unanimous report.
§ Mr. SpearingTo ask the President of the Board of Trade where and by what means he has given his reasons for not choosing the option of maintaining the Royal Mail in public ownership but with enhanced commercial freedom.
§ Mr. McLoughlin[holding answer 25 May 1994]: The Government have reached no decisions on the Post Office review. The hon. Members question does not therefore arise. A Green Paper will be published shortly setting out the issues in full and outlining the options for change.