Ongoing concerns about problems with Royal Mail deliveries in Telford will be put in the spotlight at a full council meeting next week.
Councillors from across the political spectrum have been raising the issue with the Royal Mail and now a call is being made for regulator Ofcom to become involved.
Councillor Rachael Tyrrell (Conservative, Priorslee) has proposed a motion for discussion at next week's full council that wants Ofcom to hold the Royal Mail "fully accountable for meeting its universal service obligations and quality-of-service targets."
The motion also wants Ofcom to consider the particular impact of delivery delays on vulnerable residents, people who are digitally excluded, rural and hard-to-reach communities, and those dependent on postal correspondence for health, legal, financial and welfare matters.
Borough council deputy leader Richard Overton (Labour, St George's) has written to bosses at Royal Mail over the postal service in his ward.
He was told that there have been staff absences but new posties are being trained.
Councillor Overton has posed about residents contacting him and the reply he has received.
"Residents shouldn’t have to go to the sorting office to get their mail, and we shouldn’t be missing appointments or vital letters waiting for them to be delivered."
A recent parish council by-election in Hadley and Leegomery saw Telford & Wrekin Council draft in its own teams to hand deliver some polling cards.
Even though poll cards are not essential to actually voting, councillors have been concerned that the same issues may affect next May's all out borough elections.
Conservative councillor Stuart Parr told the LDRS that people had received late payment charges on bills, and had missed medical appointments because of delays.
"Royal Mail have played it down," he added.
The issue has also been picked up by The Wrekin Tory MP Mark Pritchard, he said.
Councillor Parr added that it would not be feasible for the council to get employees to deliver polling cards across the borough if problems emerged.
A spokesperson for Telford & Wrekin Council said: "Following the delays experienced with the delivery of a small number of poll cards at the Hadley and Leegomery Parish Council election, we have been in contact with Royal Mail to understand the circumstances and help minimise the risk of a similar issue occurring in future.
"It's important to note that all poll cards were delivered before polling day and there was no impact on residents' ability to vote, particularly as poll cards are not required at the polling station, where all voters must show appropriate voter ID.
"As with all elections, we ensure contingency plans are in place for any eventualities, and we will continue to identify areas of improvement following each election which will include steps that will help ensure the timely delivery of election materials in future.
"We remain confident that robust arrangements are in place to support the smooth running of future elections.”
A spokesperson for Royal Mail said: "We know how important a reliable postal service is and recognise the impact delays can have, particularly where items are time-sensitive.
"We have published an Improvement Plan, which sets out the actions we are taking to improve reliability, and we publish our quality of service performance every quarter.
"Our latest results show that more than 92 per cent of letters arrive on time and over 99 per cent are delivered within a week.
"While we are making progress, we know there is more to do.
"We remain focused on improving reliability for all customers through targeted support for delivery offices, strengthened daily performance management and continued investment in our network."
