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Following reports of further postal problems in N8, N4 and N10 I met with senior Royal mail staff including the Service Delivery Lead for North-East London on Friday 3 December.
At the meeting I raised my concerns that residents were reporting severe delays, with some streets including Park Avenue South and Ridge Road, covered by Hornsey Sorting Office telling me they’re going a week or more with no mail. Royal Mail have told me they’re urgently looking into the issues I’ve highlighted on Park Avenue South.
In addition, I highlighted problems at the Muswell Hill Sorting Office, repeated my concerns that our area has been particularly hard hit because of the closure of the local Hornsey Sorting Office and asked what measures were being taken to pro-actively prepare for the Christmas rush and prioritise vaccination letters and COVID test results. I also asked about the support in place for hard-working postal staff, including flexible working, pay and conditions.
During the meeting Royal Mail told me:
They were aware there has been a substantial growth in demand in the N10 area and they are currently recruiting for 6 new roles. Details here for now to apply.
Vaccination letters and COVID test results are now being prioritised with plans in place to ensure delivery of mail at least every other day across the constituency.
Additional temporary staff are being recruited to cover long-term sick leave at the North London Delivery Centre and changes to leave arrangements mean more staff will be working and sorting letters over the Christmas period.
Royal Mail’s profits are soaring and they’ve just paid out over £400 million to shareholders. Yet since the Tory Lib Dem privatization of Royal Mail, which Labour strongly opposed, I’m concerned that profits are being prioritised over services and that these measures don’t go far enough to tackle the ongoing postal delays in our area. The postal service is a key part of our national infrastructure, never more so that during the pandemic when deliveries have been crucial in enabling people to isolate and small business to survive. Royal Mail need to invest their profits back into the business so residents and businesses can feel confident deliveries will be reliable and on-time.
We’re seeing a long-term increase in the volume of mail because of new housing developments, COVID and a growing shift towards online shopping. Royal Mail need to proactively respond to this and I’ll continue to put pressure on Royal Mail directly and on Ministers to ensure the regulatory framework is tough enough.
Please continue to let me know any problems you’re experiencing. Please also raise formal complaints with Royal Mail directly, as it’s really important they know the strength of feeling and frustration from local residents.
Update on postal services – 19 November
Many residents will remember the serious problems with the postal service locally last winter. It was particularly bad in the N8 and N4 areas and it was something I repeatedly raised at the time, both with Royal Mail and in Parliament where I renewed calls to bring back Hornsey Sorting Office.
I’m grateful to our Postal Workers, who’ve been on the frontline throughout the pandemic delivering more mail with fewer people. But I am concerned that our area saw services hit harder than almost anywhere else in the country last year, and with Royal Mail reporting record profits it’s vital that bosses step up and put a plan in place to stop this happening again.
That’s why earlier this month I wrote to Royal Mail bosses to ask what pro-active plans they were putting in place, including temporary staffing to cover sick leave and increased mail volumes, to avoid problems as Christmas approaches.
These are the responses that I have received to date. However, I’ve now requested a meeting with Royal Mail bosses to obtain some more concrete information about their plans for the Christmas season and to discuss further recent reports of problems in the N10 area at the Muswell Hill Sorting Office.
I’ll continue to post updates on my website and do get in touch if this issue is affecting you. You can also contact Royal Mail directly here.
