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Pembrokeshire (Royal Mail Database)

The hon. Gentleman fights like a tiger for his constituency and makes his point very well. Not only Pembrokeshire is affected. Two other old counties—Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire, which is now Ceredigion—were affected by the abolition of Dyfed and suffer because of the usage of the old county name on the Royal Mail database. Other people in my constituency, especially those who run small businesses, find that the incorrect Royal Mail database creates practical problems and gets in the way of effective listing and marketing. I have corresponded about that matter with the chief executive of Royal Mail and Ministers, unfortunately without making much progress. The purpose of the debate is to find out whether we can, at long last, achieve a solution, and whether I can convince the Minister to recognise the strength of feeling in Pembrokeshire and persuade him to take up the matter more directly with Royal Mail so that it can be resolved once and for all. I recognise that this is by no means the most important or pressing issue facing Royal Mail in 2009, but the fact that it maintains an incorrect, out-of-date database should be a cause of embarrassment and ought to be remedied. It is tempting to think that the issue goes back only 13 years to 1996, when the old administrative county of Dyfed, which covered a large area of west Wales comprising Carmarthenshire, Cardiganshire and Pembrokeshire, disappeared as an entity. The Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 abolished Dyfed as a local authority and it became a so-called preserved county for the ceremonial purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty. Statutes such as the Sheriffs Act 1887 and the Defence Act 1842 were duly amended to take account of the preserved county status, but for administrative, political and many other purposes, Dyfed ceased to have any meaning whatever. The restoration of the county of Pembrokeshire as a unitary local authority in 1996 was a proud moment for the people of the county. It followed many years of campaigning by local people who never really felt comfortable as part of Dyfed. The key complaint is that since 1996 and the great reorganisation of local government, Royal Mail has continued to maintain a database that uses Dyfed as the county name for postcodes associated with the old county. However, the issue goes back 35 years to the creation of Dyfed by the Local Government Act 1972. A great many people who were active on the issue at that time understood that the creation of Dyfed as a local authority area should have no real impact on the addresses used in the old three counties' areas that were amalgamated by the reorganisation. At the time, many were led to believe that just as Middlesex would continue to be used by Royal Mail long after the London Government Act 1963 abolished the administrative county of Middlesex, Pembrokeshire would be retained for postal address purposes, even after it was subsumed within the new county of Dyfed under the 1972 Act. At this point, I should pay tribute to the work of Councillor Peter Stock, an independent Pembrokeshire county councillor and a former mayor of my hometown of Haverfordwest—the county town of Pembrokeshire—who has worked harder on this issue than anyone I know. He has fought tirelessly for his community—not just for Pembrokeshire's symbols and identity, but for real public services, which have taken a hammering over the decades as the juggernaut of Government centralisation has rolled through west Wales. Councillor Stock is typical of many people in Pembrokeshire who have a huge affection and loyalty for our county. The county of Pembrokeshire is an ancient one. It was first formed as a territorial entity in 1138 and its historical significance stretches back almost 900 years. It is home to 200 miles of the UK's most spectacular coastline, which is now part of the Pembrokeshire Coast national park. It is the birthplace of the most important royal dynasty that this country has enjoyed—the turbulent but talented family of the Tudors, who transformed this nation. Henry Tudor, who later became Henry VII, was born in Pembroke castle in January 1457. It might interest the Minister to know that Pembrokeshire has its own flag: the gold cross of St. David on a blue background with the Tudor rose at its centre. St. David was a hugely important figure in the early Welsh and English Church and established the outstandingly beautiful city and cathedral that now bear his name in north-west Pembrokeshire. Pembrokeshire's history, culture, symbols and beauty mean that Pembrokeshire people are rightly proud of their county—it is unique. However, on 1 April 1974, it was amalgamated, along with Cardiganshire and Carmarthenshire, into the newly created super-county of Dyfed, where it remained until 1996, when Dyfed was broken up into three counties. Thirteen years later, Royal Mail has still not caught up. The postcode address file still bears no mention of Pembrokeshire or, for that matter, of Cardiganshire—Ceredigion as it is now known—and Carmarthenshire. Instead, a quick search of the database shows that, according to Royal Mail, Dyfed is still the administrative county, more then 13 years after the change. Since I was elected in 2005, numerous constituents and representatives of local businesses have raised this issue time and time again. What is involved is not just the important issue of civic pride, which we should not underestimate, but the practical day-to-day consequences for many of my constituents, who face difficulty in getting their addresses properly recognised. The postcode address file is the most widely used and widely available source of all UK addresses. It is used in the public and private sectors. It is widely used as a tool for geographical referencing. It is the formal database on which Google mapping is based. It is a crucial device in direct marketing. It provides postcodes for satellite navigation systems and it underpins the system that ensures the daily delivery of 80 million or so letters and other items every day. We should make no mistake about it—this is a serious issue. Only yesterday, I spoke to the chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses in Pembrokeshire, Stephen Cole, who described some of the difficulties that the database creates. He said:""The issue regarding the Post Office's continued use of the name of Dyfed rather than Pembrokeshire, is causing great confusion to our members and to their suppliers, especially where the exact address details are required."" He gave the example of a small business applying for a trade business credit account. The small business will supply its own correct Pembrokeshire address only to be contacted later by the accounts section, which will ask why it used Pembrokeshire when the Post Office database says Dyfed. That wastes a lot of time and effort. This unnecessary hassle arises from Royal Mail's refusal to recognise the county of Pembrokeshire.