Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he is taking to help improve postal services in rural areas.

The government remains committed to ensuring a reliable and accessible universal postal service for users across the UK, including in rural areas.

Ofcom’s changes to Royal Mail’s USO requirements are intended to meet customer needs, improve reliability of postal services and safeguard the long-term future of the universal postal service. We now need Royal Mail to work with its workforce and unions to deliver the service that people expect, and this includes maintaining the principle of one price to send letters anywhere in the UK.

Additionally, to support the sustainability of rural Post Office service provision, the government is committed to maintaining the minimum network of 11,500 branches and existing access criteria, ensuring continued nationwide access to essential services.