Politicos' postal war of words

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POSTAL pricing proposals have two Caithness politicos sparring.

Local MP John Thurso and his Holyrood counterpart, Rob Gibson, are at loggerheads over media watchdog Ofcom's plans to change the price of stamps and delivery charges.

Mr Gibson claims Ofcom proposes to restrict the Universal Service Obligation - a guarantee giving the same service to everyone in the country - to second-class mail only. This could mean there would be no capped fee for what organisations could charge for first-class deliveries.

But John Thurso said there is no plan to change this and it has not been considered by the Government, Royal Mail or Ofcom.

Meanwhile, Ofcom has said rural areas will not be at greater risk of price hikes than anywhere else in the country if pricier first-class stamps are given the green light.

Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross MP John Thurso accused the SNP of incompetence by saying the Highlands is at greater risk of hiked delivery charges and demanded an apology for his constituents.

"Having spent much of my time in parliament fighting both for the Universal Service Obligation and for the Post Office network, and having seen both of these secured by the actions of this Government, I find it extraordinary that the SNP should wilfully seek to misrepresent the law of the UK and to frighten constituents unnecessarily," said John Thurso.

"I trust they will now apologise to all those people who have been given an unnecessary fright and take a great deal more care in the future."

Following assurances from the postal minister last week, John Thurso has confirmed Royal Mail's Universal Service Obligation, which is enshrined in law, requires it to charge the same price throughout the UK for first and second-class post.

An Ofcom spokeswoman said it took over regulation of the Royal Mail last year and is charged with making parts of company more profitable.

One of the changes which could have an impact is an increase in the price of a first-class stamp - UK-wide. "One of the ideas was to take away the cap on the price of a first-class stamp to allow Royal Mail to charge something closer to what it actually costs to deliver something within one day," she said.

"The safeguard put in place to protect vulnerable consumers would be a cap on the second-class stamp to make sure there would always be a basic level of universal service available. It would affect everybody but no-one disproportionately."

However, Mr Gibson claims John Thurso is deliberately misrepresenting the situation and said he has a letter from Ofcom that suggests Royal Mail will be able to charge what it likes for first-class mail and will also be free to charge different prices in different areas.

Mr Gibson wrote to Ofcom earlier this month in order to clarify the situation.

"I await a response from Ofcom on this issue, but instead of burying his head in the sand John Thurso ought to tackle this deeply worrying issue head on, as I have," said Mr Gibson.

Ofcom's consultation on securing the Universal Service Obligation closed on January 5.

As part of the consultation, Ofcom is proposing to give Royal Mail full commercial freedom to determine contracts with large companies and other postal providers as to what it will charge for the final delivery of first-class items.

Ofcom suggests there should be no cap on prices for the vast majority of Royal Mail's services, including business post, bulk mail, and large letters and parcels sent second class.