Armed Forces: Postal Services

Dr. Fox
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the announcement on free post for the families of troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan of 12 November 2007 is expected to cost his Department; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Kevan Jones
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the cost of providing a free parcel service throughout the year for members of the armed forces serving overseas.

Mr. Bob Ainsworth
The cost of the freepost service announced on 12 November to be met by the Government will be met by the Treasury Reserve. It is not possible to state at this time how much this will be. The cost will be dependent on mail volumes which are difficult to predict. We will be in a position to make an informed estimate once the service has run for six months and an assessment of a ‘steady state’ volume can be made for planning purposes.

Estimates of the costs at this stage are between £1 million and £4 million per year, excluding the Royal Mail contribution. The cost of the service increases exponentially once mail volume passes a certain level as additional air charter and personnel costs start to be factored in.

Dr. Fox
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for how long the free post for personnel on operations announced on 12 November 2007 will extend; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Bob Ainsworth
There is no planned end date for the freepost scheme announced on 12 November. The scheme will operate for as long as our personnel are serving in the Iraq and Afghanistan theatres.