Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions she has had with Royal Mail on the impact on consumers of the rise of the cost of postal services.

The Government does not have a role in Royal Mail’s commercial decisions, including the prices of stamps and other services.

In setting its prices, Royal Mail must observe the regulatory framework set by Ofcom which 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 public consultation in 2023-24 to inform a review of the safeguard caps that should apply from April 2024.