Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation Debate

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Department: Department for Business and Trade

Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation

Helen Hayes Excerpts
Wednesday 11th March 2026

(1 day, 8 hours ago)

Commons Chamber
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Blair McDougall Portrait Blair McDougall
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The hon. Gentleman could be mistaken for a CWU trade union official. He will be crossing the Floor. He makes an important and serious point: issues around staff conditions are directly related to the quality of service. That is exactly why the Secretary of State has been convening the meetings that I have mentioned to progress the talks.

Helen Hayes Portrait Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)
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My constituents in Dulwich and West Norwood, particularly in the SE22 and SE24 postcodes, have been suffering the consequences of Royal Mail’s failings for years. Residents in SE24 recently had no mail for four weeks. A key problem in holding Royal Mail to account is that it is required to report performance data relating to only the first part of the postcode. That means that the failures of individual delivery offices are disguised in the sub-regional data. Will the Minister raise that issue with Ofcom, and ask it to look again at the reporting requirements on Royal Mail, so that it can be held properly to account?

Blair McDougall Portrait Blair McDougall
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As a former resident of SE23, I pay tribute to the posties in that part of the world. I will certainly add my hon. Friend’s suggestion to the agenda of the meeting later today.