§ Lord Cocks of Hartcliffeasked the Chairman of Committees:
What will be the financial saving to the House of Lords of the proposed changes in Members' postal arrangements; and what will be the effect on the staff. [HL3325]
§ The Chairman of CommitteesThe change in the Members' postal service is not intended to make financial savings but to provide a more efficient service for Members and to improve the quality of work for Attendants, who will no longer have to sort and redirect mail. These tasks will be taken over by the Royal Mail.
The cost of the service will be £68,000 per year (including VAT, which will be recoverable). Two Attendant posts will be saved at a cost of about £14,000 each, and the new service will also contribute to the leaner staffing of the new office accommodation in Millbank House. There will be no redundancies among the Attendants because staff will be needed to service Millbank House.