Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment his Department has made of Royal Mail’s compliance with its Universal Service Obligation in areas experiencing delivery delays of 7 to 10 days between mail deliveries.

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.

In December 2024, following its investigation of Royal Mail’s performance in the 2023-24 financial year, Ofcom fined the company £10.5m because of its failure to significantly improve service levels. The government expects that Ofcom will continue to closely monitor Royal Mail’s performance and its action plan to improve its quality of service.