Mr. Michael Howard:

I must preface what I say about this category of payment. Sometimes, payments apply to more than just our Department, and we are not in the driving seat. A franking machine operates in the postal system. It franks the post on the way out. The franking machine allowance has been around for a long time. It was probably introduced many years ago when franking machines were first introduced. Somebody made a claim for operating a new form of technology and had it conceded to.