Statement on the Business and Trade Committee’s report on the regulation of postal services

[TrueBlueTerrier]

https://www.wired-gov.net/wg/news.nsf/a ... 32500?open

Royal Mail’s current performance is not acceptable. For several years, too many deliveries have been delayed, and this has had a serious impact on families, communities and businesses across all the nations and regions of the UK.

The real issue at hand now, is Royal Mail’s ability to get on and deliver against its improvement plan, which has been a long time coming. It is imperative that the company turns round its performance if it is to rebuild the trust of the public.

Ofcom’s focus has been, and remains, on ensuring the market delivers for UK consumers and businesses. We have acted decisively, using the full extent of our powers, to modernise Royal Mail’s regulatory obligations, enabling the company to respond to the continued decline in letter volumes. These changes were made to better reflect consumer needs, support the long-term sustainability of the service, and enable greater investment in delivery performance.

Since 28 July 2025, Royal Mail has had the flexibility and opportunity to implement these changes; however, progress has been constrained by the ongoing industrial dispute, which has yet to be formally resolved. It is not the role of the regulator to intervene in, mediate, or resolve industrial disputes between employers and trade unions, nor does Ofcom have the powers to do so.

To drive further change at Royal Mail, we demanded that the company publish a credible improvement plan, backed by investment from its owners. In response, Royal Mail committed to return performance back to the regulated targets by April 2027, and to invest £500 million over the next five years. Royal Mail must now urgently put these promised reforms into practice.

As the regulator, Ofcom’s role is to create the right incentives – as we have done – and apply appropriate consequences where performance falls short. We have set clear performance targets and taken action against Royal Mail where these have been missed – fining the company more than £37 million in recent years.

Royal Mail will shortly publish its full-year performance data for 2025/26. We anticipate opening a full investigation into last year’s results, including consideration of the role of parcel prioritisation.

We have, separately, written formally to the Committee following publication of its report.

[stage3]

What a joke.

"Royal Mail committed to return performance back to the regulated targets by April 2027"

Another year to trash the mail service. For regulated targets read hollowed out Quality of Service - 99 percent of First Class can be delivered within 3 days and Second Class within 5. This will not be the backstop, but the norm. Kretinsky said as much in his testimony to the Select Committee - crisis what crisis - as he cited Royal Mail was on course to meet the watered down targets.

It repeats the nonsense that this is all to do with adapting to the decline in letters when targets have not been met for combined mail since 2019. It isn't "reform" its a cost cutting exercise of £300 million to end up as profits in the coffers of EP Group.

This was signed, sealed and delivered by the Starmer government and now Walsh is resorting to outright blackmail to enforce the scorched earth policy of 4 into 3 in delivery offices to slash jobs and intensify workloads around a gutted letters service. Vote No and reject this rinse and repeat propaganda.

[scotchy1962]

Is the company in dispute with the union? I thought they've just been having tea and biscuits and discussing how to shaft the posties.
They will always try to blame the bottom of the ladder before they will take any responsibility.
"We fined RM £37 million in recent years" i hate to tell you something, it obviously wasn't enough to get them to take notice or change their practise of prioritising parcels.
Here's a suggestion for you, fine them a lot more and i mean a lot more.