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Pembrokeshire (Royal Mail Database)

I am grateful that I have secured this short debate on a subject that has fallen on my desk regularly in the past five years: Royal Mail's ongoing refusal to recognise the county of Pembrokeshire in its postcode address file, which is the key database that underpins the national postal system. Some of my constituents are merely puzzled about why their county name appears incorrectly on much of the mail coming through their letterboxes, while others find that quite offensive. In Pembrokeshire, there is a widespread and deep attachment to the county's name, history and culture, which is becoming quite rare in modern Britain. Pembrokeshire is so much more than a place name; it carries with it a particular identity and a wonderful heritage. For local people to continue to receive mail that is incorrectly marked with the county name Dyfed—the old county name, which disappeared 13 years ago—is both annoying and demeaning.