Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to tackle (a) cases where first-class mail sent from (i) the Forest of Dean and (ii) other rural constituencies fails to arrive in a timely manner and (b) other delays in the postal system.

The government is committed to a sustainable universal service for users throughout the UK, including those in remote and rural areas.

It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards and to decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification.