BEIS0000393
BEIS0000393
RESTRICTED - POLICY & COMMERCIAL
Rt Hon Alan Milburn MP
Chief Secretary to the Treasury
Parliament Street
London SW1P 3AG
9 February 1999
BA/POCL PROJECT HORIZON
You will know that as Minister for the Post Office I have been charged with taking forward the
work on preparing an initial draft of our White Paper on the future of the Post Office.
It has become increasingly clear that given the central importance of the Horizon project to the
future of the counters business of the Post Office, it will be difficult and perhaps even in
practice impossible to issue the White Paper until the future of Horizon has been settled.
Against this background - and you are aware of the pressures we are under to achieve early
publication of the White Paper - I have become increasingly concerned at the continuing
silence from the Treasury since Jeremy Heywood's letter of 28 January. I would therefore very
much welcome an urgent meeting on the progress of the work which your officials are taking
forward under your guidance. I will ask my office to contact yours shortly to arrange a suitable
time, if you agree.
Tan McCartney