| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Maria Eagle: Will the Minister give way?
Mr. McCartney: Not at the moment, as I have only three minutes left to finish my remarks.
I know that Royal Mail has been studying carefully the alternative proposals set out in the report. I am arranging an early meeting with the chief executive of the Post Office to discuss the results of its analysis and studies of the alternative Speke-Garston proposal. Decisions relating to the operational arrangements for the postal businesses are and must remain a responsibility of the Post Office board and management.
My locus in what is essentially a management issue is limited to satisfying myself that, in the case of the north-west and Liverpool operations, the alternative options have been fully and fairly considered and judged on consistent and rigorous criteria on a like-for-like basis. When I have done this, it will then be for the Post Office to reach its final commercial decision, which it will discuss with the CWU as soon as it is in a position to do so. Following that, it will meet Members of Parliament for the area to give them its decision on this potential new investment.
Maria Eagle:
Does the Minister consider that inviting final tenders to build a plant is contingency planning?
Mr. McCartney:
I cannot be any more specific or open with my hon. Friend than I have been. The Post Office gave the commitments in good faith; I intervened personally to ensure that an alternative proposal was made. Having exerted my influence in that manner, there was no way I would countenance any undermining of the professional viability of the proposal. What has happened is a matter of due process. It has nothing to do with irrevocable decisions that would render that process null and void.
That was not the reason I made the decision. If I had not felt that the process of having a potential alternative was right, I would have been open, frank and honest from the outset, last summer, in saying: "This is the site; go ahead with it." I hope that that assurance is of assistance to my colleagues.
Last summer, the people of Liverpool were worried that the Liverpool postmark was going to be lost. I took representations on that, and I can confirm that Liverpool's postmark will continue in use indefinitely. The Post Office has offered a commitment in that respect.
| Index | Home Page |