§ Lord Napier and Ettrickasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will encourage the Post Office to date stamp the date of dispatch of business envelopes to make it clear when they were posted. [HL1052]
§ The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Simon of Highbury)Operational responsibility for the handling and processing of mail rests with the Post Office board and management. I understand from the Post Office that all stamped and metered business mail representing a large proportion of total business mail and accounting for around 30 million items a day carries a date stamp showing the day of posting. Business mail which is sent under one of Royal Mail's discounted and customer sorted services under the postage paid impression cover is not date stamped. Such mail is usually produced by business in large quantities using pre-printed stationery well in advance of the mailing date or date of handover to Royal Mail for delivery on a specific date or within a specified time period, making it difficult to determine or apply a posting date.