asked the Chairman of Committees:

Further to his Written Answer on 11 December 2006 (WA 169), why there is no figure available for the volume of mail received in the Palace of Westminster in 2005, given that in previous Written Answers he has provided figures for 2003 and 2004. [HL1245]

The method for recording the volume of post received in the Palace of Westminster has changed, following the introduction of the new postal services contract. Figures provided in previous Written Answers for the total number of items of post received in both Houses of Parliament in 2003 and 2004 were supplied by the Royal Mail.

Following the introduction of the new postal services contract, key performance indicators, which include monitoring the volume of post received, are being monitored and recorded on a monthly basis. This system was introduced in September 2005 and not January 2006 as erroneously stated in my Answer of 11 December 2006. The Royal Mail has provided an estimate for the total number of items of post received in both Houses of Parliament during 2005 of 4,733,000 items. The House of Lords received an estimated 20 per cent of this total number, giving an annual figure for the Lords for that year of approximately 946,600. Since the beginning of January 2006, the Palace of Westminster's contract monitoring system has provided the following monthly data for inbound mail: