Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with Royal Mail concerning increases to the price of postage stamps; and whether the matter of delivery target failures was raised during those discussions.

As a private business, Royal Mail’s management sets the prices for its services and in doing so must work within the regulatory framework set by Ofcom, the independent regulator. The Government does not have a role in Royal Mail’s day-to-day commercial decisions.

It is for Ofcom to set and monitor Royal Mail’s service standards. Ofcom has powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification.

Ofcom is currently undertaking an investigation into Royal Mail’s failure to meet its quality of service performance targets for 2022-23.