§ Viscount Bridgemanasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, in the public interest, they will provide assistance for entries in British Telecom's phone books to include postal codes. [HL3299]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville)BT was separated from the Post Office by the British Telecom Act in 1981. This created two separate industries, one for postal services, the other for telecoms. BT is required by its licence to provide a directory information service, but this does not specify that it should provide printed telephone directories.
There is no requirement on BT under its licence to provide postal codes in its telephone directories. It is a commercial matter for BT to decide whether or not to include postal codes in its printed telephone directories. I understand that the Post Office has its own telephone helpline for customers who have queries about postal codes. The Government have no plans to provide assistance for entries in BT telephone directories to include postal codes.