The petition of residents of the UK,
Declares that the Royal Mail delivery office in Marple, which enables local residents to collect parcels and items of mail, provides a service that is vitally convenient; further that there is no local alternative provision of this service; and further that the nearest facility is not in easy reach of the local population and has no direct public transport links.
The petitioners therefore request that the House of Commons urges Royal Mail plc to keep a Royal Mail delivery office open in Marple.
And the petitioners remain, etc.—[Presented by William Wragg , Official Report, 6 September 2016; Vol. 614, c. 302.]
[P001706]
Observations from the The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Margot James):
The closing or relocation of delivery offices is an operational matter for Royal Mail’s management, provided it does not affect its ability to deliver the universal postal service—the collection and delivery of letters six days a week throughout the UK at uniform, affordable prices.
No final decision has been taken in respect of the closure of the Marple delivery office. Royal Mail is conducting a feasibility study to look at the impact of relocating the delivery operations of the Marple office to its Stockport delivery office. The study includes discussions with its staff and trade unions.
In the event that the move goes ahead, detailed planning will take place to ensure a smooth transition for the postal operator’s operations, its staff and customers. It is standard practice for Royal Mail to put plans in place to minimise disruption to local services. For example, it offers re-delivery to a nominated neighbour and delivery on a day nominated by the customer. These are free of charge services. Alternatively, Royal Mail can deliver items to a different address within the same postcode area.
The House may also be interested to know that there are existing arrangements, available as standard across the country, which provide delivery or redelivery for many items free, or at low cost, to a nearby Post Office branch, at the request of the recipient.