Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) conducting a review of postage stamp prices and (b) implementing a cap on price increases of stamps.

As a private business, Royal Mail’s management sets the prices for its services. The Government does not have a role in Royal Mail’s commercial decisions.

In setting prices, Royal Mail must observe the regulatory framework set by Ofcom, the independent regulator. This framework imposes prices controls, ‘safeguard caps’, on certain second-class products to ensure a basic universal service is available to all at affordable prices and users of postal services, especially vulnerable consumers, are protected from on-going price rises.

Ofcom will conduct a review of the safeguard caps, including a consultation, during 2023/24.