Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the oral evidence of the Chief Executive Officer of Royal Mail to the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee on 22 February 2023, HC 1045, what steps her Department is taking with Ofcom to help ensure that Royal Mail delivers its universal service obligation.

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 should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification. The Government has no role in Ofcom’s regulatory investigations.

Ofcom continues to monitor Royal Mail’s performance against its universal service obligation to ensure it is providing the best service it can to customers.