November 21, 2008 12:00 am admin frontpage, news
by René Lavanchy
MPs have suggested holding an investigation into postal regulator Postcomm after it called on the Government to make Royal Mail sell off the Post Office.
In its annual report on the postal network published this week, Postcomm said that Royal Mail places too many restrictions on its Post Office subsidiary, which “needs greater commercial freedom” if it is to survive.
But members of the Business and Enterprise Select Committee have reacted by saying it may be time to turn their attention to the regulator, which has been accused by the Communication Workers’ Union of mismanaging competition in the postal market.
Labour MP Lindsay Hoyle told Tribune: “We should be starting to look at Postcomm and why it’s so unhelpful. I’m going to send an e-mail to the clerk to get Postcomm in before the committee. Let’s get them in”. Postcomm were “totally out of touch” with public sentiment, he added.
Roger Berry, another committee member, said holding an inquiry into Postcomm “may be a fair point. We haven’t taken evidence from Postcomm for a while. Why not?”
“I genuinely don’t see the purpose, unless the agenda is that they wish to privatise the Post Office, and demerging it is seen to be the first step.”
Postcomm’s report welcomes Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell’s decision last week to award the successor to the Post Office Card Account to the Post Office, guaranteeing it £1 billion income over five years. But it says the Post Office needs to offer a broader range of products and services, including banking services.
A Postcomm spokesperson said they welcomed any opportunity to explain how they carry out their duties.
I bet they do.
Nice to see members of the Business and Enterprise Select Committee getting a backbone, must be an election in the offing.
