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 the impact of (a) increases in the cost of first class stamps and (b) the difference in price between first and second class stamps on the affordability of the postal service.

The Government’s objective continues to be ensuring the provision of a sustainable, accessible and affordable universal postal service.  However, as the independent regulator of postal services, regulatory decisions are a matter for Ofcom in which Government is not involved.

Ofcom’s regulatory framework imposes price 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 later this year to inform a review of the safeguard caps that should apply from April 2024.