asked the Assistant Postmaster-General the amount of the surplus of income over expenditure in the case of the Post Office Department for each of the last 10 years.

Following are the particulars asked for:The surplus of income over expenditure (after charging interest on capital) shown by the Post Office Commercial Accounts for the five years to 31 March, 1940, are:

	£
1935–36	12,539,110
1936–37	12,306,769
1937–38	11,227,880
1938–39	10,254,578
1939–40	7,426,841

The preparation and presentation of Commercial Accounts has been suspended during the War by Defence Regulation; but approximate and unaudited accounts on a simplified basis have been compiled for departmental use. The surpluses shown by these accounts are, of course, substantially expanded by the increases in various rates of charges made in the Budget of 1940–41 and later years, as well as by a greatly increased user of services by Government Departments. The approximate surpluses and the estimated amount derived from the increases in charges are as follows:

	Surplus.	Yield of increases in charges.
	£	£
1940–41	22,700,000	22,000,000
1941–42	26,250,000	26,000,000
1942–43	32,200,000	26,800,000
1943–44	37,400,000	33,400,000
1944–45	40,000,000	34,600,000