Royal Mail has insisted it needs to “urgently” roll out changes that will see second-class post scrapped on Saturdays as postal targets are missed once again.
The group said 91.6% of second-class mail was delivered within three working days, while 77.5% of first-class post was delivered the next working day between September 29 and November 30.
Royal Mail said it marks an improvement on the previous quarter, but still falls short of the targets set by Ofcom, which are for 93% of first-class post to be delivered the next day and 98.5% of second-class to be delivered within three days.
Royal Mail chief executive Alistair Cochrane said: “While these results show improvements for both first- and second-class mail, we recognise that our performance in letters is still not good enough.
“Unfortunately, under the current delivery model, there is no viable way to significantly and sustainably improve quality of service for customers.
“The answer is to urgently implement Universal Service reform, which is why we have now entered an intense period of discussions with the CWU to finally reach an agreement on these changes.”
In November, Royal Mail confirmed that Cumbria will receive upgraded postboxes as part of a national scheme including in Penrith and Maryport. Customers scan a barcode on the Royal Mail app to open the drawer, which is designed for parcels too large to fit through the traditional slot. The redesigned boxes also feature a separate slot for letters, as well as a solar panel to power the scanner and drawer mechanism. Proof of posting and parcel tracking is available through the Royal Mail app, with the new service aimed at those sending or returning items purchased online.
However, delivery rates continue to be an issue for the organisation.
Ofcom last year gave the green light to Royal Mail to scrap second-class letter deliveries on Saturdays and change the service to every other weekday, starting from July 28.
Royal Mail launched second-class letter changes across 35 delivery offices as a pilot, but has yet to expand this nationwide across all 1,200 sites due to the failure to reach an agreement with the union.
It kicked off month-long intensive talks with the Communications Workers Union (CWU) at the beginning of February after failing to agree on how to roll out changes nationwide to its universal service obligation (USO).
Royal Mail said the pilots “show the model is working, with increased efficiency and improved service levels, including over Christmas when volumes doubled”.
“Given strong evidence from the pilots conducted that USO reform will result in significant and sustained improvements in quality of service for customers, Royal Mail sees no alternative to its urgent deployment across the network,” it added.