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Royal Mail

The critical point about the £1.2 billion that has been missed in recent weeks is that this is a commercial loan that has to be repaid, not a grant that is simply given by the Government to the company. Let me say a bit more about the issue of partnership. Hooper recommends a partnership with another postal or network company that has carried out the kind of change with which Royal Mail needs to go further and faster. The nub of this debate is what this means and why it is necessary. It does not mean privatisation of Royal Mail. A company is either publicly owned or not, and with this Government Royal Mail will remain publicly owned. Let me make it clear that that will be specified in the legislation to implement the Government's proposals. The Government will own the majority of the company and appoint the majority of the board, and it will still count as a publicly owned company. Royal Mail will not be privatised, and the partnership that we propose is not the first step towards privatisation. That is one reason why we will not be voting for the Opposition's motion.