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Armed Forces: Postage

Answer

The Government have never charged to carry postal packets up to 2 kilogrammes through the British Forces Post Office system to personnel serving on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The cost payable is that charged by Royal Mail Group to carry postal packets from local post offices to the British Forces Post Office depot at Mill Hill, London. This means that the overall cost of postage to operational theatres is fixed at the standard UK inland rate for packages up to 2 kilogrammes (currently £5.31 for a2 kilogramme packet), which are dispatched by surface mail; an air mail service is also available. However, for operational reasons an airmail-only service is operated to Iraq and Afghanistan. The cost of this serviceis currently £6.50 for a 2 kilogramme packet, which represents only 38 per cent of the Royal Mail Group airmail rate for those countries of £19.58. The prices charged by Royal Mail Group are a commercial decision for that organisation. A scheme whereby the Government paid Royal Mail Group's charges was introduced on 17 April 2003, as a temporary measure unique to Iraq, at a time when service personnel did not have access to the welfare facilities now available in theatre. When the provision of goods and services in Iraq reachedthe required standard, the decision was taken to end the scheme on 8 April 2004. It was later reintroduced for a period of one month before Christmas 2004, and subsequently confirmed by the then Secretary of State for Defence, prior to Christmas 2005, that the government payment of Royal Mail Group charges in the pre-Christmas period was to become a standard element of the operational welfare package. The centrally funded posting dates for Christmas 2006 were 10 November to 8 December inclusive, for which Royal Mail Group charged the Government £577,000; this sum does not include the costs for additional air transport and onward distribution that were also paid for by the Government.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

3226; 691 c172-3WA

Session

2006-07

Subjects

Armed forces Concessions Fees and charges Iraq Peacekeeping operations Postal services Afghanistan

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk