§ Baroness Blatchasked Her Majesty's Government:
What discussions have taken place concerning the future of Consignia with interested parties from other countries; who were involved in such discussions; and what were the outcomes. [HL3707]
§ Lord Sainsbury of TurvilleConsignia took part in discussions about a possible merger of Consignia's postal activities with the Dutch Postal Service (TPG). However, no satisfactory agreement was reached and Ministers therefore agreed with the company that discussions should cease. It has been the policy of successive governments not to go into the detail of such commercially confidential matters.
Since the Government have given Consignia commercial freedom within the public sector, it is entirely appropriate that Consignia has been considering its commercial strategy, including the possibility of relationships or ventures with other operators.