Royal Mail

Lord Pack Excerpts

Monday 8th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Lord Stockwood (Lab)]

In preparation for this Question, I spoke to both the CEO of Royal Mail and directors of Ofcom. For context, it is worth stating that letter volumes have halved in the last 10 years, while the number of addresses has increased significantly. While I agree with my noble friend that performance has not been where it needs to be, there is a quality of service plan that has been negotiated between Ofcom and Royal Mail, and indeed, this year, Royal Mail is above the targets that it set for itself to meet those aggressive performance targets by March of next year. Some £500 million of additional investment has been committed, and there was an agreement with the CWU to ensure that the employment practices are sustainable for the commitments to improvements and services. So, while I agree with my noble friend that the current performance is not where it could be, the CEO of Royal Mail made commitments early last week that he is confident that it will meet the targets by April of next year.

[Lord Pack (LD)]

My Lords, one of the significant problems faced by Royal Mail staff in trying to reach those targets is the very large number of physical attacks by dogs on postal staff—over 2,000 incidents every year. This problem is, unfortunately, made worse by the very poor design of many letterboxes, which means that you cannot safely deliver a letter without putting your fingers at risk from an angry dog’s teeth. What work are the Government doing with the relevant interested parties to ensure that the standard of letterboxes is improved and that postal staff can do their work in safety in future?

[Lord Stockwood (Lab)]

I will have to refer this back to the Ofcom regulators. I had not prepared for a question on letterboxes, unfortunately, but I will write to the noble Lord giving him an update.

Social Media: Non-consensual Sexual Deepfakes

Lord Pack Excerpts

Wednesday 14th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)]

I thank the noble Baroness for her points and for her expertise that she brings to the House. I should have mentioned that I commend all those who have been speaking up from a position of experience. It is a very difficult thing to do, and it brings a unique perspective into the debate.

I spoke before about the Government withdrawing from using these platforms; we do not think that would be effective. We understand why people feel strongly about it. It is something that we keep under review.

The noble Baroness raised a number of other important issues. We are monitoring how Ofcom’s code on violence against women is being implemented. We think it is very important. I will discuss the many other areas she raised with my colleague who is taking that Bill through and, indeed, with the noble Baroness outside the House if that would be of interest.

[Lord Pack (LD)]

My Lords, last week the Government stated in this House that 10.8 million families use X as their main news source, which obviously would be many more people in total, but Ofcom’s data shows that only 3% cite X as their primary news source, which is under 2 million people—such a small number, in fact, that it is smaller than the number of people who believe that the moon landings were faked. Is it not time for the Government to rethink their approach to X, and, in particular, to rethink the Home Office’s published social media policy, which positively prioritises and encourages people to use X? Is it not time to start discouraging rather than continuing to encourage it?

[Baroness Lloyd of Effra (Lab)]

I have responded to this question before. I understand why people feel strongly about it. As I mentioned, the Government keep participation under review, but it is important that we can communicate with people wherever they get their news from. We have things to say about our violence against women and girls strategy, about what is acceptable in terms of social media, and on many other topics. It is important that we reach all people.