Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had recent discussions with Royal Mail on standards of service.

Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider.

Last November, I met the CEOs of Royal Mail and International Distribution Services and raised concerns about Royal Mail’s performance. They reported continued targeted action to improve reliability. I will continue to raise concerns with Royal Mail if quality of service does not improve.

Ofcom, the independent regulator of postal services, sets and monitors Royal Mail’s regulated service standards and decides how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without sufficient justification.