Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Blair McDougall and Lindsay Hoyle

Thursday 12th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

We’ve made it!

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Blair McDougall)]

It was worth waiting for. We are clear that Royal Mail’s service performance has not been good enough. I met the sector’s independent regulator Ofcom yesterday to stress the widespread concerns among hon. Members about service standards. My hon. Friend has deep experience in this area, and I welcome his engagement with the main delivery office in Corby, where Royal Mail tells me that it is recruiting nine new postal workers to support the timeliness and quality of its postal services.

Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation

Debate between Blair McDougall and Lindsay Hoyle

Wednesday 11th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Speaker]

Order. We have had enough—I don’t need that backchat. I call the Minister.

[Blair McDougall]

I hope that the hon. Member can tell from my body language and tone that I share the anger and frustration of Members across the House. As I mentioned, I am meeting Ofcom later today to raise the very issues she mentions. I slightly take issue with the year zero approach she took. There are very long-standing issues with Royal Mail driven—in fairness—by the changes in consumer habits and the things we are sending and not sending any more. She mentions the new ownership. As part of that deed of undertaking, this Government got the assurance from the new owners that they could not take value out of the company until service improved. That shows that we take this matter seriously.

[Blair McDougall]

My hon. Friend gives me the opportunity to do what I have not done so far, which is to say that whatever criticisms hon. Members across the House have, they are in no way a critique of the work of our heroic posties up and down the country. I mentioned earlier that the Secretary of State brought together management and unions; Royal Mail is a private company, and we are not seeking to insert ourselves and become mediators, but that was a signal of how seriously we take this matter and how seriously we take the need for management and the unions to come together and address, through mutual understanding, exactly the issues he raises.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Sarah Olney (Richmond Park) (LD)]

In each year since 2023, Royal Mail has been fined by Ofcom over delivery delays, amounting to nearly £40 million. Following recent announcements, it would not surprise me if it were fined again in 2026. When Royal Mail was reprimanded in 2023 and 2024, its leadership promised that reforms would be made to improve its services, but following the £21 million fine in October 2025, the company said it could not publish its improvement plan until negotiations with the Communication Workers Union concluded.

The takeover of Royal Mail, which this Government supported, seems to have done nothing to improve the service so far. Over the past several years, an average of roughly one in four first-class letters arrives late, and recent reports suggest that 219 million letters may arrive late this year. These letters are sometimes urgent and hold important information, so it is clear that Royal Mail is repeatedly failing to meet its universal service obligation. Despite that, its stamp prices have consistently risen. That includes next month’s planned rise of 10p to the cost of first-class postage, taking the cost of a stamp to £1.80. The sorry saga of Royal Mail has gone on for far too long. Does the Minister believe that the British public should be paying more for their postal service, despite Royal Mail repeatedly failing to deliver their letters on time?

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[Mr Speaker]

That was a very late delivery. I am going to finish this urgent question at 1.30 pm, so let us help each other by being speedy. The Minister will show me how quickly he can reply.

[Blair McDougall]

My hon. Friend makes an important point, although I notice that everything seems to be the best in her constituency. The problem is not just missed post, but missed opportunities, like the one that she described. That is exactly why we will continue to pressurise Royal Mail, directly and through the regulator, to improve the service in areas like hers.

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[Phil Brickell (Bolton West) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for his constructive engagement with me over the past few weeks on Royal Mail’s poor services in my Bolton West constituency. I know that he shares my utter frustration at the current service provision. May I flag with the Minister a letter that I sent to Horwich constituents on 13 February, updating them on the progress that I had made with the Minister on this matter? A constituent got in touch to say that the letter was only received on 25 February, some 12 days later, alongside missing correspondence from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, the NHS and the Department for Work and Pensions. Another constituent in Bolton received a Christmas card on 7 March that had been posted before 14 December. When will my constituents see an improvement in Royal Mail services?

[Mr Speaker]

Can we try to shorten the questions? Some people are not going to get in, and that really worries me, as this subject matters to all of us—especially me, as I have the best post offices and the best posties.

[Blair McDougall]

I reassure my hon. Friend’s constituents that his efforts to transmit their dissatisfaction have been heard at the highest level. If there is a prize for dark irony, I think he has probably just won it. It is because we want this situation to improve as quickly as possible that we are taking the action that I have described, and continue to put on the pressure.

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[Blair McDougall]

My hon. Friend shows passion and anger, which he has also shown to me in private when raising these issues. Again, that speaks to how frustrating it is for us as Members of Parliament to raise a problem—on any issue—and then to be told that it does not exist when our constituents are telling us otherwise. Royal Mail has a responsibility to address the problem in a direct and straightforward manner, because if we are not recognising the problem, we will not deal with it.

[Mr Speaker]

This has been an excellent debate, and I thank Members for the way it has been delivered on behalf of all our constituents. Royal Mail’s management has a problem, and that has certainly been highlighted today.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Blair McDougall and Lindsay Hoyle

Thursday 11th December 2025 Commons Chamber

[Blair McDougall]

On this, as on all things, my hon. Friend is a strong voice for the problems faced by her local people. I know that she raised those concerns about local services and resourcing challenges, particularly in Middleton, with Royal Mail. I understand that Royal Mail has recruited 17 more staff in the past few weeks, and that the Middleton delivery office is now fully staffed. As I say, I am discussing such issues with Royal Mail, and it recognises the need to improve.

Mr Speaker, on behalf of the whole House, I wish all our heroic posties a merry Christmas at this most difficult time of year for them.

[Mr Speaker]

I will be there on Friday with the Chorley posties.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Blair McDougall and Lindsay Hoyle

Thursday 30th October 2025 Commons Chamber

[Blair McDougall]

I share my hon. Friend’s frustration at the lack of an industrial strategy from the SNP Government in Edinburgh. It has meant that workers at Alexander Dennis in his constituency are on furlough rather than doing what they do best: making world-class buses for public transport. For our part, we are supporting combined mayoral authorities to co-ordinate the procurement of buses through a Crown Commercial Service commercial agreement, and we are publishing a 10-year pipeline of future bus orders to provide the much-needed certainty that the sector requires. That includes providing advice on using social value criteria that suppliers such as Alexander Dennis are well placed to meet when procuring new buses, such as creating and retaining jobs in a way that respects our legal obligations. I pay tribute to my hon. Friend for keeping this issue on the agenda.

[Mr Speaker]

It is no use the Secretary State looking at me with a grin as though I am out of order. We are still only on the second question and I have to get some other Members in—that is all I am bothered about. It will get worse shortly—I have got Jim to come! I call Robin Swann.

[Robin Swann (South Antrim) (UUP)]

I will not take the dig about being short personally, Mr Speaker.

The industrial strategy and the strategic defence review both offer great opportunities to the entire United Kingdom. Can I seek reassurances from the Minister that he will work with the Northern Ireland Executive to ensure that Northern Ireland and Northern Ireland businesses get benefit out of both?

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[Blair McDougall]

As I said to the hon. Member for South Antrim (Robin Swann) a moment ago, we have already met with the Northern Ireland Executive on these issues. Skills are an essential part of the industrial strategy because we see, again and again, industries around the country that are desperate to grow, and have the orders, but are unable to create the high-paying jobs that we need. That is an absolute priority for us as we implement the industrial strategy.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Gareth Davies (Grantham and Bourne) (Con)]

Labour’s industrial strategy recognises that housing and infrastructure are vital to driving regional investment. But as I hope the Minister will know, across the road, the Treasury has been quietly consulting on changes to the landfill tax, ending the decades-long exemption for quarries. That change would add millions of pounds on to infra- structure projects and increase tax costs for construction businesses across the country. How would such a move help grow our economy and build the homes and infra- structure that we need?

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[Blair McDougall]

Thank you, Mr Speaker. I am glad that those on the Opposition Benches recognise excellence when they see it.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

[Sarah Olney (Richmond Park) (LD)]

I also welcome the ministerial Front Benchers to their new roles. The Liberal Democrats have long championed an industrial strategy. In government, we created the Green Investment Bank, the British Business Bank and the regional growth fund, and we opposed the Conservative Government’s damaging decision to scrap the industrial plan. We welcome the industrial strategy’s return, especially its focus on investing in skills.

However, businesses know that the apprenticeship levy does not work: funding is hard to access and millions go unspent. We welcomed the pledge in June to replace it with a more flexible growth and skills levy, but firms and young people are still awaiting details. Will the Minister provide details of what training this will fund, so that businesses and young people can plan ahead with certainty?

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[Blair McDougall]

I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his constructive question; I am very happy to pursue that within Government. The wider point is that both the small business strategy and the industrial strategy are important because they are cross-Government strategies, as lots of sectors and individual businesses are facing challenges that are not just the responsibility of one Minister. I will certainly follow up on that.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the shadow Minister.

[Dame Harriett Baldwin (West Worcestershire) (Con)]

I associate myself with the remarks about British Beauty Week. In addition to beauty businesses, one of the key ingredients for growth on our high streets is having a post office in the mix. As Post Office Minister, he has inherited a network of 11,500 post offices across the country and a consultation on the size of that network. Can he echo what his predecessor said at the Dispatch Box, and commit to supporting our high streets by maintaining the scale of the post office network throughout this Parliament?

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[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Business and Trade (Blair McDougall)]

My hon. Friend is a dynamic advocate for a dynamic part of the country in the Thames valley. The industrial strategy and its sector plans highlight the strengths in his area, especially in tech and life sciences. Alongside the national package to grow the sector, specific interventions in the south-east include an AI growth zone in Culham, support for the Solent freeport, expanding the British Business Bank’s nations and regions investment fund and major projects backing the Oxford to Cambridge growth corridor. We will keep working with my hon. Friend to unlock the potential across the south-east.

[Mr Speaker]

I call the Liberal Democrat spokesperson.

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[Mr Speaker]

Order. Mr Stuart, please—we do not read out the phone directory, and trying to do so in a topical does not work for you or me.

[Blair McDougall]

As I said to the hon. Member for West Worcestershire (Dame Harriett Baldwin), we are committed to ensuring not just that we work to maintain the post office network, but that we deal with some of those long-standing issues about the viability of the business going forward—issues that the Conservatives had 14 years to fix and did not.