§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) what research she has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the change in numbers of jobs, and the areas involved, which are likely to result from the proposal by Royal Mail to change its pricing structure from weight based charging to size based charging in (i) the photo finishing industry and (ii) other industries; [172516]
(2) what recent discussions she has had with (a) Royal Mail, (b) the Post Regulator, (c) representatives of the photo finishing industry and (d) other business representatives on Royal Mail's proposals to change its pricing structure from weight based charging to size based charging. [172517]
§ Mr. TimmsThe proposal by Royal Mail to introduce size-based pricing is a matter for the postal services regulator, Postcomm. Royal Mail's proposal is currently the subject of a full public consultation which runs until 27 July 2004. The consultation can be accessed on the Postcomm website www.postcomm.gov.uk
As well as seeking views of other interested parties, a significant part of the consultation is to gather information from customers likely to be affected by size-based pricing. Following this consultation, Postcomm will produce a Regulatory Impact Assessment taking account of the comments received from customers, including the photo finishing industry.