Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of workforce retention at Royal Mail on recent delivery performance.

I have been clear that Royal Mail’s recent delivery performance has not been good enough. Workforce retention plays an important role in quality of service, as Royal Mail has said itself in the past in response to Ofcom investigations.

I met Ofcom on 11 March and raised concerns about Royal Mail’s quality of service. Ofcom is explicit that Royal Mail must publish and deliver a credible improvement plan that results in significant and continuous progress. Royal Mail has committed to do so as soon as possible after its discussions with the Communication Workers’ Union conclude.