Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of consumer protections in the parcel delivery sector, particularly where subcontracting arrangements are in place.

Ofcom is the independent regulator for the postal sector with the responsibility and powers to regulate postal services.

The ‘Mail Integrity Objectives’, set out in Ofcom’s Essential Condition 1, seek to minimise the potential for parcels to be subject to loss, theft, damage or interference. Currently this Essential Condition is effectively restricted to Royal Mail’s services delivered under its universal postal service obligation.

Ofcom engages regularly with all parcel operators to understand their approach to implementation of, and compliance with, its consumer protection measures.