Royal Mail

Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate Excerpts

Monday 8th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stockwood (Lab)]

Currently, we are focused on improving the performance of Royal Mail in the UK through Ofcom and through direct conversations with Royal Mail. My colleague, Minister McDougall, meets with his counterparts in Royal Mail and Ofcom on a regular basis. However, I take my noble friend’s question seriously. It is important that we encourage the provider to speak to its foreign counterparts to ensure that there is a solution that is met. We are currently engaging with the EU on a number of issues, but this is something that we should get to in short order as well.

[Lord Kirkhope of Harrogate (Con)]

My Lords, while there are delays in post being received, a considerable number of people are concerned at the amount of post that appears to be mislaid or lost or never even arrives at its destination. Has the Minister got any statistics on that which he can give us any information about?

[Lord Stockwood (Lab)]

There is regular analysis of overall delivery rates, including for mail that is waylaid. There are some innovative solutions within the universal service offering. For example, one of the questions that came up was about NHS letters, which are critical and must be delivered on time. There has been a technological solution involving barcodes that can ensure that those letters get prioritised when there is high demand and pressure on the service. I believe that the investor and Royal Mail are looking at innovative solutions to ensure that they meet their targets across the whole system.