Letter to the Chairman from Lord Falconer
As part of the consultation process in the transposition
of the Postal Services Directive, DTI published draft implementing
regulations in the summer of 1999. They included with this a table
showing how each article of the Directive was being transposed
(a so-called correspondence table or memorandum). As chair of
the House of Commons' Trade and Industry Select Committee (TISC),
which was conducting an enquiry into Post Office reform at the
time, you welcomed the consultation and included the following
recommendation in your report:
"We welcome the ready response of Ministers
to our request for publication for purposes of consultation of
a draft of the Regulations to establish the Regulator and to enshrine
in the UK law the terms of the Universal Service Obligation, and
the publication therewith of a memorandum setting out in detail
the proposed transposition of the relevant EU Directive into UK
law. We recommend that the Cabinet Office ensure that in future
an equivalent implementation memorandum be made available to Parliament
together with primary or secondary legislation giving effect to
EU Directives"
I must make an apology for the time that it
has taken to respond to your recommendation. I hope that you will
understand that this raised important issues, which needed time
for consideration.
In response to the Committee's recommendation,
the Government commits itself to making available to Parliament
a memorandum alongside primary or secondary legislation giving
effect to European directives, except where the effort required
would be disproportionate having regard in particular to the potential
benefit to the reader. This memorandum will set out how the Government
will transpose the main elements of the relevant European directive
into UK law. The Government aims to have this system in place
by November 2001.
21 November 2000
RECOMMENDATION I: REGULATED
UTILITIES MODEL
It would be helpful to have an indication of any
significant deviation from the regulated utilities model in the
legislation
The arrangements for regulation and consumer
representation of postal services are entirely consistent with
regulation of the regulated utilities. Where any differences arise,
these are minor and meet circumstances particular to regulation
of the postal market. The only significant difference arises in
what is regulated. For the regulated utilities the whole market
is regulated. For postal services only companies operating in
the reserved area will be regulated. The current reservation is
items containing letters costing less than £1 to send or
weighing less than 350 grams.
RECOMMENDATION N: CARRY-FORWARD
OF LOAN
FACILITIES
The Government forwarded a supplementary note
in relation to the proposed carry-forward of unused loan facilities.
An update would be helpful
The new regime is still only half way through
its second year. The full effects of the reform package will not
be realised until the Post Office company is up and running. The
Government will then be able to consider how the regime is working
and the extent to which adjustments may be necessary. In this
context we will continue to keep the question of whether it is
appropriate to allow end year flexibility for the carry forward
of unused loan facilities under review.
THE POST
OFFICE AND
THE FUTURE
OF THE
NETWORK, THIRTEENTH
REPORT OF
SESSION 1999-2000, HC 724
1. In June 2000 the Cabinet Office PIU published
a report on the Counters Network. Following its previous Reports
in this Parliament, the Committee heard oral evidence in July
2000 and reported in November 2000. The Reply is awaited.
2. The Report continued some the themes
from previous Reports, including the future of Parcelforce and
the state of industrial relations, but concentrated on the question
of subsidy for the network, the prospects for the Universal Bank
under discussion, and the plans to install ATMs in a number of
post offices.
| 
