Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation

Alex Mayer Excerpts

Tuesday 4th November 2025 Westminster Hall

[Blair McDougall]

I certainly will. As I mentioned a moment ago, the more dispersed geography of Scotland means that the postal service is often even more of a lifeline in our part of the world. I will certainly follow up that point with Scottish Ministers, and with colleagues in the Department of Health and Social Care. On the future of the universal postal service, I reassure the hon. Member for Bridgwater that we remain committed to a comprehensive USO that is financially sustainable and efficient, and that meets user needs within the open and competitive market. That is why the six-days-a-week, one-price-goes-anywhere universal service remains at the heart of the regulatory regime that is overseen by Ofcom, but of course the universal postal service faces challenges, as many Members have said.

[Alex Mayer (Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard) (Lab)]

It is also important to get letters into the postal service in the first place. In Bidwell West, which is in my constituency, residents face a 30-minute walk to the nearest post box. That is because Royal Mail refuses to put in new post boxes on unadopted roads, despite the fact that the developer is perfectly happy for there to be a new post box. Would the Minister consider raising that with Royal Mail?

[Blair McDougall]

I can certainly do that. Through Ofcom, Royal Mail has obligations in terms of the accessibility of post boxes, and I will raise my hon. Friend’s point with the chief executive of Royal Mail when I meet with him next week.

The challenges faced by Royal Mail are shared in most European countries, which are taking steps to reform their USOs. On 10 July, Ofcom announced reforms to put the USO on a more sustainable footing, and to push Royal Mail to improve reliability. However, changing those obligations alone will not be enough to guarantee a better service, so today, Ofcom has launched a call for input as part of its ongoing review of affordability, which will inform its consultation early next year. Reform of the USO is an ongoing process, which is being undertaken by Ofcom, the independent regulator, so I will not directly insert myself into that. However, I will certainly make sure that the voices of hon. Members are heard, widely and clearly.

Many Members raised issues relating to the quality of service. Experiencing delays is so frustrating, as many Members said. That is why, when EP took over Royal Mail, we secured the commitment through our golden share that before its new owners take value out of Royal Mail, quality of service must improve. Ofcom has powers to investigate and take enforcement action when failures in quality of service are identified, as it did recently when it fined Royal Mail £21 million for contravening its service conditions in 2024-25. Ofcom has told Royal Mail that it must urgently publish a credible plan that delivers significant and continuous improvement.

The changes to the USO that I referenced earlier include changes to Royal Mail’s quality of service targets, as the hon. Member for Bridgwater mentioned. They are intended to enable the business to more predictably deliver mail without delays, but I share his view that flexibility must ensure reliability, rather than lowering ambitions. Ofcom has committed to closely monitoring Royal Mail’s performance, and to ensuring that it meets the business regularly to have those conversations. It is evident from the contributions of hon. Members across the Chamber that Royal Mail’s quality of service has not been good enough. The Government have discussed that with the chief executive of Royal Mail, and I will do so again on behalf of the hon. Members who have raised issues today.

I will return briefly to the subject of the constituency of the hon. Member for Bridgwater. I know that there have been service issues because of resourcing difficulties in the Bridgwater, Burnham-on-Sea and Taunton delivery offices. I understand that Royal Mail is now actively recruiting staff to deal with that. Again, I will discuss that with the chief executive of Royal Mail next week. Royal Mail has publicly committed to delivering improvements to its quality of service, and is taking action to recruit additional frontline staff, improving delivery office efficiency and simplifying the network to make it more reliable and resilient. I am encouraged to see that Royal Mail is recruiting 20,000 temporary workers across the country to help deliver the Christmas items that we all expect during that peak period.

As I have set out, the Government remain committed to ensuring the provision of a financially sustainable and efficient universal postal service, one that is accessible and affordable for customers, and that works for workers and businesses. I fully recognise that delays in postal deliveries can have serious consequences for those, including small businesses, who rely on the post for important information. Now that Ofcom has made changes to the USO specification to ensure a modernised service, we need Royal Mail to work with its workforce and unions to deliver the service that we expect.

I hope that hon. Members will see Royal Mail’s service quality improve in the months and years ahead, but rest assured, I will continue to work with Royal Mail and Ofcom to make sure that that is the case. I emphasise that whatever criticisms we might have of Royal Mail, and whatever concerns we might have about the quality of service, we, across the House, are so grateful for the quality of service and the commitment of individual posties, who are an absolute lifeline to communities up and down the country.

Question put and agreed to.