To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which British Forces Post Office numbers do not receive free parcels; what criteria determine who (a) does and (b) does not qualify for free parcels; and if he will make a statement. (211269)

There is no free parcel (items 2-30 kg) service to British Forces Post Office locations, only a free packet (items up to 2 kg) service. The following British Forces Post Office numbers do not currently receive free packets:

2, 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 23, 26, 28, 30, 31, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 44, 47, 49, 50, 52, 53, 57, 58, 59, 61, 62, 63, 65, 105, 109, 113, 115, 140, 150, 200, 204, 205, 208, 210, 212, 214, 222, 229, 231, 241, 243, 248, 251, 252, 255, 256, 261, 270, 271, 272, 275, 276, 277, 278, 279, 280, 281, 282, 285, 288, 289, 292, 300, 305, 309, 318, 324, 327, 334, 335, 338, 345, 346, 350, 357, 358, 361, 362, 363, 366, 369, 375, 376, 377, 378, 380, 381, 382, 384, 386, 387, 389, 390, 391, 395, 396, 398, 399, 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 409, 412, 418, 419, 420, 421, 423, 426, 430, 431, 434, 435, 438, 439, 440, 441, 442, 443, 446, 447, 448, 449, 452, 464, 465, 466, 467, 468, 469, 470, 482, 485, 487, 488, 489, 490, 492, 494, 495, 537, 555, 559, 567, 589, 599, 615, 622, 628, 651, 655, 670, 677, 700, 747, 777, 785, 786, 794, 801, 802, 805, 806, 808, 825, 1000, 1001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Free packet post is only available to those personnel serving in the Iraq and Afghanistan theatres. All other personnel receive letters, packets and parcels at a subsidised rate which means that the sender only pays the UK domestic inland postage charge regardless of where in the world an item is sent. A six week free service is available in the pre-Christmas period for many locations that do not have an enduring free service, such as deployed ships, the Falkland Islands and Diego Garcia.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he is taking to ensure that all British troops serving in (a) Iraq and (b) Afghanistan receive their entitlement of free family parcels; and if he will make a statement. (211270)

Mail posted from anywhere within the United Kingdom typically takes three to seven days to reach Iraq and Afghanistan. All British Forces Post Office addressed mail is delivered several times daily to the British Forces Post Office depot at Northolt for sorting and onward transmission to its final destination. All mail for Iraq and Afghanistan is bagged, loaded daily onto road transport and driven to Royal Air Force Brize Norton or Royal Air Force Lyneham for loading on to military or charter flights to the operational theatres.

The British Forces Post Offices in the theatres seek to clear the mail daily. This is usually achieved in Iraq due to the collocation of the majority of British forces in the Basra base. However, in Afghanistan the onward transmission of mail can be delayed because mail for units deployed to forward positions has to be transported by helicopter for the final leg of delivery. Although all steps are taken to ensure timely delivery, mail transported by helicopter comes behind ammunition, medical supplies and food in order of priority.