Council letters sent on 120-mile round trip to reach homes i

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Council letters sent on 120-mile round trip to reach homes in Hull

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THOUSANDS of city council letters are being sent on a 120-mile round journey – to reach homes in Hull.

Hull City Council is using a private company to sort and stamp its outgoing second-class mail.

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Hull City Council is using a private company in Leeds to sort and stamp its outgoing second-class mail.
As a result, the mail is driven from Hull to Leeds and back before being delivered to homes and businesses around the city.

It has led to important letters being delivered late.

Today, one senior councillor admitted the practice was “absolutely outrageous” and pledged a review.

Deputy council leader Daren Hale admitted: “It’s something I am extremely unhappy about.

“I can’t believe we have got ourselves into a situation where our mail is taken to Leeds to be sorted before being brought back to Hull to be delivered.”

The collection, sorting and franking of second-class mail, such as council tax bills, planning decisions and letters from councillors to their constituents, was outsourced to a private company earlier this year.

The work was previously done internally by the council at the Guildhall.

Approved by the council’s previous Liberal Democrat administration, the switch was part of a wider drive to try to save £1.5 million a year in day-to-day business costs at the authority.

It’s believed the move has led to fewer staff working in the council’s post room, which now only handles internal mail and first-class post. However, it is unclear if any jobs were lost as a direct result of the move, or if staff were moved to another department.

Under the new contract, private delivery firm TNT collects all of the council’s second-class mail and takes it to a depot in Leeds, where it is sorted and franked before being driven back to Hull.

It is then taken to the Royal Mail’s Malmo Road sorting office for final door-to-door delivery by postal workers.

The new system is understood to have already caused a number of embarrassing delays.

The Mail has been told about invitations to events arriving after they have taken place, while legal notices with strict time limits for responses have been delivered after the deadline expiry date.

Councillor Hale added: “I have been looking at how we can get out of this nonsense.

“I know the problem with contracts but if there is way to change this we will do it.

“Even if you agree with contracting out services, this is like a madhouse.

“I also wonder about the amount of carbon being used.”

He said officers had told him the cost of mail being sent out by the council had reportedly reduced by ten per cent under the new contract.

But Martin Deane, of the Hull and East Riding Green Party, criticised the move.

Mr Deane said: “If it is cheaper to do it this way, I am sure the amount of fuel being used and pollution being created is not factored into the equation.

“It is also rather sad this work has effectively been given to a courier company at the expense of people in Hull.”

Andrew Allison, Hull and East Riding co-ordinator of the TaxPayers’ Alliance said: “If the service is working efficiency and saving money then it’s good news for tax payers.

“However, if it’s not working properly and letters are arriving late then the council should be looking into it.”

An East Riding Council spokesman said all of the authority’s external post was processed internally before being delivered by Royal Mail.

[glenfiddich]

if its second class mail tnt aren't hitting the targets and need penalising

[PhilthyPhil]

In my office all the local council mail travels this sort of distance anyway because the MC is a 100 mile round trip from the DO.