Royal Mail: Performance

Debate between Jess Brown-Fuller and Anneliese Dodds

Wednesday 21st October 2026 Westminster Hall

[Anneliese Dodds (Oxford East) (Lab/Co-op)]

It is a real pleasure to speak in this debate. I am very grateful, above all, to the hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Sorcha Eastwood) for securing this debate.

This is not the first debate that we have had on this subject, even in this Chamber. Some of us have spoken on this matter many times. In fact, very sadly, it feels like some of the rest of the country is now catching up with some of the issues that we have had in Oxford East over many years. As the hon. Member for Lagan Valley mentioned, those issues have been highlighted by the Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee. They were also indicated by the meeting that a number of us had recently with Ofcom and the CWU, organised by my hon. Friend the Member for Lichfield (Dave Robertson).

In my area, the root of the challenge relates to recruitment and retention—I very much agree with comments that have been made—and over time there has been increased transparency. After a certain amount of denial that there was a problem, there is now better communication, at least with my regional Royal Mail, and sometimes with national Royal Mail as well.

However, there is a huge challenge. I am concerned to hear that the model that was developed in Oxford for the prioritisation of NHS mail does not seem to be operating everywhere; perhaps the Minister can look into that. That model was devised by Oxford posties to pull out that NHS mail. Again, the approaches to mail prioritisation and rotation that are sadly having to be used in Oxford because of the number of absences, and failures in recruitment and retention, do not seem to be being used everywhere.

[Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)]

The right hon. Lady makes a really important point. Royal Mail recently wrote to me after I complained about the lack of service in Selsey, a coastal area where there seems to be absolutely no mail being delivered. It said that it prioritised medical letters and had a rotation system, yet that is not evidenced on the ground in Selsey. People are being asked to collect their own mail from the sorting office, which is only open for two hours a day. Does she agree that Royal Mail needs to turn its words to MPs into actions, so that our residents can see the changes we are asking for?

[Anneliese Dodds]

I certainly agree. Many of us have been very frustrated that we often get stock letters back about the problems being experienced, that our constituents have to go to sorting offices and that we are not seeing the change we urgently need. Given the challenges with recruitment and retention, I have been trying to promote vacancies myself as a local MP.

Three things need to happen. First, we need the national management to listen to the local posties and the CWU, because they have ideas about how to deal with this. Secondly, we need to get a grip on the unlevel playing field, especially when it comes to parcels. We all know that the volume of letters is going down, not just in the UK, but right across Europe and other industrialised countries. The parcel trade is therefore really important, but we have a farcical situation where 98% of Royal Mail workers are employees on permanent contracts, yet they do effectively exactly the same job as people who are not employed—people who are under terrible terms and conditions and are treated as if they are self-employed. We all know that is bogus. That needs to be dealt with, because it is leading to an unlevel playing field. Given the Minister’s great experience of working rights legislation, will she ensure that the consultation on bogus self-employment going on at the moment leads to the change that is needed?

Finally, I urge the Minister and the Government to focus on the potential of Royal Mail. We are talking about the challenges and representing our constituents’ concerns now, but we have an amazing network in the UK, from the most northerly to the most southerly point. It proved its worth during covid. We should be doing everything we can to recognise and build on that potential. I ask them to please listen to the CWU’s proposals on that in particular.

Gaza: Humanitarian Situation

Debate between Jess Brown-Fuller and Anneliese Dodds

Tuesday 28th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Dodds]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for raising the importance of the lodestar of the two-state solution, which we must always aim at. Israelis and Palestinians rightly deserve a state of security, and the sovereignty that he is committed to. On the role of UNRWA, we have had many discussions with its leadership and other international partners. Ultimately, a two-state solution would enable the normalisation of the economy that is needed, and hopefully a shift away from the humanitarian problems there have been for so many years. My hon. Friend mentioned reconstruction, and we are discussing that with a number of UN partners, but I would again mention the World Bank, which has been doing so much work, particularly on how finance can be accessed. Of course, a precondition for that is the ceasefire holding, which we continue to push for.

[Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)]

According to the UN, 1.9 million people in Gaza are currently displaced, which is 90% of the population. Half of them are children. How will the Minister work to secure the right of return and self-determination for Palestinians in Gaza, especially in the light of the calls from the US President to “clean out” Palestinians from the region?

[Anneliese Dodds]

The figure that the hon. Member quoted is right, and in some cases Gazans have been moved up to nine times because of recent events. She described Gazans as having the right of return, and I would underline that word “right”. They do have that right. That is clear under international humanitarian law, and it is a right that the UK will seek to ensure becomes a reality.

Gibraltar-Spain Border Checks

Debate between Jess Brown-Fuller and Anneliese Dodds

Monday 14th October 2024 Commons Chamber

[Anneliese Dodds]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his question, and the clearest answer that I can give is yes, yes and yes.

[Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester) (LD)]

Last week, my mother was desperately trying to get out of Gibraltar and back to the UK to be with my grandmother, who had suddenly turned very ill and was receiving end-of-life care. The plane she was due to get on diverted to Malaga due to adverse weather conditions, but the border was closed to the passengers, stranding British citizens in Gibraltar, with no rescheduled flight and no offer of accommodation. I put on record my sincere thanks to the Minister of State responsible for Europe, North America and the overseas territories, the hon. Member for Cardiff South and Penarth (Stephen Doughty), and the hon. Member for Central Ayrshire (Alan Gemmell) for their advice and guidance during that very distressing period last week. Will the right hon. Lady advise, taking into account the challenges that Gibraltar airport faces, what steps she is taking to ensure that British passport holders facing emergencies can cross the border into Spain and return home swiftly?

[Anneliese Dodds]

I know the whole House would want to send our very best wishes to the hon. Member’s grandmother and that it regrets the really difficult situation that her family was placed in. The Government absolutely recognise the challenges, and have been working hard on them, and I am grateful for her kind recognition of that. There have been two challenges: the disruption caused by bad weather, for example, to Malaga, as otherwise there would have been planes landing on Gibraltar; and the issues she mentioned with the airport, which were caused by the ingress of water. I pay tribute to the RAF staff who have been working around the clock to try to set that right. We recognise the disruption and will continue to make many representations to ensure that those who should be able to smoothly exit and enter Gibraltar can do so in the future.