Politics: We must continue to stress the importance of Royal Mail’s Universal Service Obligations

At Prime Minister’s Questions last week, I asked Rishi Sunak about the very concerning report issued by Ofcom, the Office of Communications to give it its formal title, which suggested that Royal Mail should be allowed to reduce postal deliveries potentially down to only three days per week.

Indeed, such was the media interest and public concern in the issue I raised that among the number of journalists who contacted me after PMQs was one from the New York Times.

Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries. It oversees the universal postal service and is tasked with making sure it is fit for purpose.

Included in Royal Mail’s obligations under the universal service is the requirement to deliver letters on weekdays and Saturdays and parcels from Monday to Saturday.

This also includes the two-speed service of first and second class which has been with us now since 1968.

Postal services and postal workers remain essential to those who rely on them. In a survey, eight in ten people said some things will always need to be sent by post.

And three quarters of those who use postal services say they rely on the post for letters.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, I said my constituents rely on Royal Mail to deliver important items of mail and packages and which help people to run their businesses and asked the Prime Minister to give a commitment to me that under his watch, there will be no reduction in postal services provided by Royal Mail in Scotland or anywhere else.

The Prime Minister agreed with me about the importance of Royal Mail’s Universal Service Obligations and said he was committed to maintaining that obligation. However, Royal Mail is now partly-privatised and it is clear that the direction of travel managers wish to take it in involves providing less of a service and, likely, for a greater cost.

To add to the concern, it is astonishing that Labour - who are almost certain to form the next UK Government - have so far been unwilling to make a similar commitment to protecting Royal Mail’s current delivery service.

After the Shadow Home Secretary cast doubt over Labour’s commitment to protecting Royal Mail’s postal service by failing to answer a simple question when interviewed on radio, Sir Keir Starmer must give a cast-iron commitment that a Labour government will not oversee a reduction in postal services.

It is essential that Royal Mail’s universal service obligation be upheld in its current form to allow businesses to run effectively and efficiently and allow people to receive important mail and parcels six days a week.

So, while I welcome the Prime Minister’s response, it’s clear that the Ofcom report is only the start of a process and we need to ensure that those who wish to see the current service continue must remain vigilant, and make those views known at every opportunity.

Ofcom are seeking the views of the public and businesses until 3 April 2024 and further details can be found at Ofcom.org.uk. I would encourage everyone who may be affected by the proposals to make their views known to Ofcom.