Selby District Council Royal Mail row

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A LEADING Labour ward member has hit out after the district council ditched some Royal Mail deliveries and transferred them to a private company.

SDC Labour group leader Coun Steve Shaw-Wright has condemned a decision to transfer some deliveries to TNT in a cost-cutting exercise.

A council spokeswoman said: "We're currently using both Royal Mail and TNT, as this offers us the most cost-effective and efficient service. This is all about how we can meet our strategic theme of Making Better Use of Resources.

"TNT is used for our bulky and second class postal items, while Royal Mail is used for our first class and recorded delivery items. The Council is committed to driving down postal costs, and we want to make sure every penny we spend is done so in the most effective way – using both TNT and Royal Mail helps us achieve this.

"Postage depends on the needs of individual departments so we don't have any figures on how much goes first or second class at this time."

SDC leader Coun Mark Crane said the new service would provide better value for money and added: "This decision has been taken for financial reasons and it means money will be saved.

"As with any business, we have to look at costs. We've looked at postal costs for some time and, as far as I'm aware, it has been discussed for the past nine months."

But Coun Shaw-Wright said he believed members of the Conservative Group, including the leader, were unaware of the decision and felt costs could be made elsewhere, and that the council should support Royal Mail.

He added: "I've been informed no councillors, including the leader, knew about this. If the post we send is split between Royal Mail and TNT, that means the council will be adding to its own carbon footprint, something it says it's keen to reduce.

"In addition, the Conservatives are supposed to support our post offices, but this decision goes against that. Let's save money by reducing the amount of surveys carried out, which would be a start."