§ Annabelle EwingTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, pursuant to her answer of 6 February 2002,Official Report, column 968W, on Consignia, what proportion of the £2 million fund to support volunteer and community initiatives to maintain or reopen post office facilities in rural areas has been spent to date; of that sum, what proportion has been spent in Scotland; and what proportion of the £480 million invested by the UK Government in the Horizon programme to automate the post office network has been spent in Scotland. [37091]
§ Mr. AlexanderI refer to the reply to the hon. Member for North Norfolk (Norman Lamb) on 11 February 2002,Official Report, column 67W. Six applications for support under the £2 million rural fund have been received from initiatives in Scotland; Post Office Limited are currently evaluating them.
To date POL have despatched 139 application forms of which 29 have been completed and returned. Of those 29, seven applications have been agreed and three have not met the criteria for the scheme, the remainder are at various states of examination.
The Horizon programme was a national project and information is available only on the UK wide basis.
§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the latest posting time was to achieve next-day delivery of post to the Isle of Wight from(a) Belfast, (b) Cardiff, (c) Edinburgh, (d) Liverpool, (e) Manchester, (f) Newcastle, (g) Leeds, (h) London South-Western District and (i) Birmingham in (i) 2001, (ii) 1991 and (iii) 1981. [37602]
1481W
§ Mr. Alexander[holding answer 26 February 2002]: I understand from Consignia that to achieve next day delivery from major city centre boxes across the UK to the Isle of Wight, the last posting times were generally as follows:
- 1981: 17.30
- 1991: 17.30
- 2001: 19.30
§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the latest posting time was to achieve next-day delivery of post from the Isle of Wight to(a) Belfast, (b) Cardiff, (c) Edinburgh, (d) Liverpool, (e) Manchester, (f) Newcastle, (g) Leeds, (h) London South-Western District and (i) Birmingham in (i) 2001, (ii) 1991 and (iii) 1981. [37603]
§ Mr. Alexander[holding answer 26 February 2002]: I understand from Consignia that the latest posting times to achieve next day delivery from the Isle of Wight to major city centres across the UK were as follows:
The latest posting times from other boxes vary according to location. In 1981 and 1991, the last collection from the Isle of Wight was 17.30.
- Newport 18.45 at box in Newport town
- Ryde 18.30 at box in Union Street
- Sandown 18.00 at box outside Sorting Office
- Freshwater 17.30 at box outside office
- Ventnor 17.30 at box outside office
§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of addresses in(a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) the United Kingdom receive a second daily delivery of mail. [38041]
§ Mr. Alexander[holding answer 27 February 2002]: I understand from Consignia that it currently categorises delivery points as either "Town" which receive a second delivery where mail is available or "Rural" which receive a single delivery.
The proportion of addresses covered by a second daily delivery of mail is as follows:
Per cent England 88.9 Scotland 85.2 Wales 81.9 Northern Ireland 72.2 United Kingdom 87.7 On a UK wide basis, on average 95 per cent. of mail by volume is delivered on first delivery.
§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what proportion of the population of(a) England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, (d) Northern Ireland and (e) the United Kingdom live more than (i) one mile, (ii) two miles and (iii) five miles from a postbox. [38038]
§ Mr. AlexanderI understand from Consignia that of the 27 million UK delivery addresses, 0.9 per cent. are more than one mile from a post box and 0.001 per cent. are more than five miles from a post box or posting facility.
1482WInformation is availably only on a UK basis at distances of one and five miles.