Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of Royal Mail’s proposed stamp price increases on magazine publishers.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not have a role in Royal Mail’s commercial decisions, including the prices of stamps and other services.
In setting its prices, Royal Mail must observe the regulatory framework set by Ofcom which imposes price controls, ‘safeguard caps’, on certain second-class products to ensure a basic universal service is available to all at affordable prices.
Information on Ofcom’s decisions regarding retail price caps on Royal Mail’s universal postal services to apply from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2027 is available on its website: www.ofcom.org.uk/post/deliveries-and-charges/consultation-review-of-second-class-safeguard-caps-2024.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of changes to Royal Mail’s universal service obligation on magazine publishers.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, is responsible for ensuring the provision of a financially sustainable and efficient universal postal service that meets users’ needs.
Ofcom’s statement of 5 September set out potential reforms to the universal service obligation and its plans to carry out further in-depth research among postal users. Ofcom expects to publish any proposals for public consultation in early 2025, which will provide an opportunity for interested parties (including magazine publishers) to contribute their views. More information is available on Ofcom’s website: www.ofcom.org.uk/post/royal-mail/securing-the-future-of-the-universal-postal-service.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will ensure that second-class Saturday deliveries remain part of the Universal Service Obligation for Royal Mail.
Answered by Justin Madders - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, is responsible for ensuring the provision of a financially sustainable and efficient universal postal service that meets users’ needs.
Ofcom’s statement of 5 September set out potential reforms to the universal service obligation and its plans to carry out further in-depth research among postal users. Ofcom expects to publish any proposals for public consultation in early 2025, which will provide an opportunity for interested parties (including magazine publishers) to contribute their views. More information is available on Ofcom’s website: www.ofcom.org.uk/post/royal-mail/securing-the-future-of-the-universal-postal-service.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow and Gateshead East)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions she has had with (a) Ofcom and (b) Royal Mail on the potential implications for her Department's policies of Royal Mail's failure to meet the universal service obligation.
Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
The Government’s objective continues to be ensuring the provision of a sustainable, accessible, and affordable universal postal service.
It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards and decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action where there are reasonable grounds for Royal Mail failing to achieve its obligations.
Following its investigation into quality of service performance for 2022-23, Ofcom imposed a £5.6 million fine on Royal Mail for contravening its service conditions. Ofcom has committed to closely monitoring Royal Mail’s performance and the steps it is taking to return delivery offices to pre-pandemic practices.