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Departments: Postal Services

Volume 463: debated on Thursday 19 July 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what volume of correspondence his Department sent (a) by Royal Mail and (b) by other commercial delivery services in each of the last five years; and what the reasons were for the use of other commercial delivery services. (150447)

Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) correspondence sent by Royal Mail is not tracked by volume.

FCO correspondence sent to diplomatic missions overseas is dispatched in the diplomatic bag by commercial delivery services. Volumes for each of the last five financial years are as follows:

April to March each year

Kilos

2002-03

407,576

2003-04

384,214

2004-05

362,109

2005-06

341,537

2006-07

332,622

The FCO’s current principal overseas mail service provider won an open Government tender in 2005 on the basis of geographical reach and value for money. Royal Mail did not tender.