Postal Services

(asked on 3rd December 2014) - View Source

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps he plans to take to protect the Universal Service Obligation of delivery of mail to every address in the UK.


Answered by
Jo Swinson Portrait
Jo Swinson
This question was answered on 10th December 2014

The minimum requirements of the universal postal service – which include the 6 day a week letters service at a uniform price to urban and rural addresses up and down the country – are enshrined and protected in law. Only Parliament can change the minimum requirements of the universal postal service.

Under the Postal Services Act 2011, Parliament has ensured that protection of the universal service is at the very heart of the regulatory regime by giving Ofcom, as an independent regulator, a primary duty to secure the provision of the universal service throughout the UK. Ofcom has the regulatory powers and tools it needs to intervene in the market if the universal service is ever at risk.

Ofcom has recently responded to Royal Mail’s concerns over the potential threat of competition to provision of the universal service. Having effectively reviewed and assessed all the evidence on competition in the postal market, including the business plans of Royal Mail and Whistl, it has concluded that the universal postal service is not under any current threat from the effects of competition. They will however continue to track Royal Mail’s performance and any new developments in the market. And as part of an ongoing wider review, they will also be looking at other factors that may affect Royal Mail’s ability to deliver the universal service in the future. More information about Ofcom’s decision can be found on its website (http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/post/securing-universal-postal-service).

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