Postal Services (Scotland)
Debate between Gregg McClymont and Gemma Doyle
Gregg McClymont
The response of policymakers is the universal service obligation, which specifies the services that the privatised entity is legally obliged to provide.
Gemma Doyle (West Dunbartonshire) (Lab/Co-op)
I congratulate my hon. Friend on securing this debate. As he may know, last month reports surfaced of a leaked letter from the Business Secretary to the Chancellor hinting that flexibility may be built into the Royal Mail Bill to scale back the universal service obligation from six days a week to a five-days-a-week service. Such a move would set a very dangerous and worrying precedent. Will my hon. Friend join me in calling on the Minister to give a categorical assurance that under no circumstance will the Government allow delivery services to be scaled back in West Dunbartonshire and, indeed, across Scotland?
Gregg McClymont
My hon. Friend raises a very good point, and I am sure that the Minister will wish to address it.
An under-specified universal service obligation and an inadequate subsidy, where that is necessary, mean that there will not be a good postal service. That is currently the situation in telecoms in respect of the provision of fibre-optic broadband to rural areas. A universal service obligation is contained in the Royal Mail Group licence. The number of letter and parcel deliveries is laid down in statute and in the Royal Mail Group licence. However—this is crucial—the rules regarding the number of post offices are much less tightly drawn. There is very little in statute and a limited number of criteria in the licence that Royal Mail is obliged to fulfil.