Loophole 'could let RM's new owner duck delivery guarantee'

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Loophole 'could let Royal Mail's new owner duck delivery guarantee'

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The Royal Mail principle of delivering letters to every home and business in the country for the same price is under threat, a report warns today.

MPs have raised fears that a clause in the Government’s controversial Postal Services Bill could undermine the ‘universal service obligation’.

Under this pledge, Royal Mail promises to collect and deliver letters six days a week to any address – from the Cornish coast to the Scottish Highlands.

A first-class stamp, which currently costs 41p, will send a letter to a friend in a nearby village, or one who is living in a village hundreds of miles away.

The Communication Workers’ Union says it is ‘the glue that binds the nation together’ delivering everything from Christmas cards to bank statements. But the report, from the Commons Scottish Affairs Committee, says the Postal Services Bill appears to contain a loophole for ‘exceptional’ locations or circumstances.

Ofcom, the media regulator which is set to take over as the Royal Mail watchdog, will decide what is exceptional.

The report says ‘exceptional circumstances’ include a home which is particularly difficult to access, or poses a health and safety risk to Royal Mail staff.

It comes as the Royal Mail has been put up for sale by the Government, ending nearly 400 years of state control.

Up to 90 per cent of the company will be sold, possibly to a foreign buyer, or floated on the stock market, with 10 per cent given to the firm’s 155,000 workers. MPs from the committee said they were ‘particularly concerned’ with the clause, and called for urgent clarification.

The Federation of Small Businesses said it was also concerned, and stated that the Bill is ‘not clear’.

The CWU fears a new owner may not respect the universal service obligation. It quoted the example of one European postal giant referring to it as ‘a kind of Jurassic Park [which] we should get rid of.’

Yesterday Edward Davey, the postal affairs minister, repeated his cast-iron guarantee that the universal service obligation is 100 per cent protected.

He gave ‘total assurances’ that the loophole contained in the Postal Services Bill is ‘not some kind of get-out clause’.

[pinstripe]

"He gave ‘total assurances’ that the loophole contained in the Postal Services Bill is ‘not some kind of get-out clause’."

So it's a 'get out clause' then.

[taurus88]

The propaganda begins. Within a year, we'll have a privatised postal service with a 'pay by the mile' pricing structure.

[steven100]

Wonder if the mail will actually decrease by 10%.