Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he is taking to ensure that postal services are maintained in rural areas after the covid-19 outbreak.

The Universal Service Obligation is set out in the Postal Services Act 2011 and ensures a six-day a week, one price goes anywhere, service for the delivery and collection of letters (and five days a week for parcels) throughout the United Kingdom. Ofcom, as the UK’s designated independent regulator of postal services, monitors the delivery of the universal postal service standards.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, postal operators have continued to provide a valuable service to this country, including in rural communities.

The Government’s objective in relation to postal services continues to be to secure a sustainable service for users throughout the UK, including those in remote and rural areas.