Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had recent discussions with Ofcom on trends in the price of 1st class stamps over the last five years.

Ministers and officials have met with Ofcom to discuss a range of issues in relation to its role as the regulatory authority for the postal sector.

The Government does not have a role in Royal Mail’s commercial decisions, including the price of stamps but, in setting prices, Royal Mail must observe the regulatory framework set by Ofcom. 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.

Ofcom will conduct a review of the safeguard caps that should apply from April 2024 including a consultation in 2023-24.