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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of delayed or lost Royal Mail deliveries on small independent businesses during Christmas 2021.

The Government recognises the importance of a reliable universal postal service to small businesses across the UK and we know postal workers have worked exceptionally hard to meet demand over the festive period.

Ofcom, the independent regulator, has an ongoing postal market research programme which tracks the use of, and attitudes to, post among small and medium enterprise (SME) customers.

Ofcom summarises its findings in its annual monitoring update for postal services. Ofcom’s last report covering 2020-21, published on 9 December 2021, found that overall satisfaction levels with Royal Mail’s services remain high with 79% of SMEs being satisfied. Satisfaction among SMEs about the level of lost post sent by Royal Mail was at 70%. Ofcom aims to publish the next report towards the end of 2022.