The potential time line for Mon-Fri letters.

[Woody Guthrie]

I've been doing some research and asking Ofcom some questions about how long it could take to implement the move to a 5 day letters USO.

This is the relevant piece of legislation.

34 Review of minimum requirements

(1)OFCOM may from time to time review the extent to which the provision made by section 31 reflects the reasonable needs of the users of postal services provided in the United Kingdom.

According to Ofcom this criteria has already been met. The review which was published in November 2020 titled. .Review of postal users’ needs An assessment of whether the minimum requirements of the universal postal service reflect the reasonable needs of the users of postal services in the United Kingdom .

In their key findings it states.
Five days a week letter delivery frequency would have a very small impact on residential and SME users, and our research suggested it would continue to meet the needs of virtually all users. This evidence suggests that reducing the frequency of letter deliveries requirement to five days a week would reflect users’ reasonable needs.


(2)A review under subsection (1) may, in particular, consider whether the requirements imposed by that section could be altered so as better to reflect those needs.

Ofcom concludes.
Our evidence suggests therefore that reducing the frequency of letter deliveries to five days a week would reflect users' reasonable needs.

(3)OFCOM must send a copy of each review under subsection (1) to the Secretary of State.

As is required under Section 34 of the Act, we have provided a copy of this review to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

(4)The Secretary of State may at any time direct OFCOM to carry out a review under subsection (1).


Done.

So all that's actually left to do is..

(5)Where OFCOM have carried out a review under subsection (1), the Secretary of State may by order amend section 31.

(6)The provision that may be made by an order under subsection (5) does not include the making of different provision in relation to different places in the United Kingdom.

(7)An order under subsection (5)—

(a)is subject to affirmative resolution procedure, and

(b)may include such amendments of this Part as the Secretary of State considers necessary or expedient in consequence of any provision made by the order.

Now that sounds like legislation and that sounds like a long time and a ballache but the affirmative resolution procedure is not really anything like passing an Act of Parliament.

It's done with something called a Statutory Instrument, can be introduced at a day's notice and although in most cases both houses get a vote no ammendments are allowed and a strict timetable for debate is in place. There are anything between 500 and 1000 statutory instruments laid down every year.

Basically it's a rubber stamp exercise especially with a large government majority.

So where we are right now..

I'm not saying Royal Mail are ready to go with this right now but if the resolve was there it could potentially be in place in a week.

[toonshola]

I've been doing some research and asking Ofcom some questions about how long it could take to implement the move to a 5 day letters USO.

This is the relevant piece of legislation.

34 Review of minimum requirements

(1)OFCOM may from time to time review the extent to which the provision made by section 31 reflects the reasonable needs of the users of postal services provided in the United Kingdom.

According to Ofcom this criteria has already been met. The review which was published in November 2020 titled. .Review of postal users’ needs An assessment of whether the minimum requirements of the universal postal service reflect the reasonable needs of the users of postal services in the United Kingdom .

In their key findings it states.
Five days a week letter delivery frequency would have a very small impact on residential and SME users, and our research suggested it would continue to meet the needs of virtually all users. This evidence suggests that reducing the frequency of letter deliveries requirement to five days a week would reflect users’ reasonable needs.


(2)A review under subsection (1) may, in particular, consider whether the requirements imposed by that section could be altered so as better to reflect those needs.

Ofcom concludes.
Our evidence suggests therefore that reducing the frequency of letter deliveries to five days a week would reflect users' reasonable needs.

(3)OFCOM must send a copy of each review under subsection (1) to the Secretary of State.

Ofcom says this has been met.

(4)The Secretary of State may at any time direct OFCOM to carry out a review under subsection (1).


Done.

So all that's actually left to do is..

(5)Where OFCOM have carried out a review under subsection (1), the Secretary of State may by order amend section 31.

(6)The provision that may be made by an order under subsection (5) does not include the making of different provision in relation to different places in the United Kingdom.

(7)An order under subsection (5)—

(a)is subject to affirmative resolution procedure, and

(b)may include such amendments of this Part as the Secretary of State considers necessary or expedient in consequence of any provision made by the order.

Now that sounds like legislation and that sounds like a long time and a ballache but the affirmative resolution procedure is not really anything like passing an Act of Parliament.

It's done with something called a Statutory Instrument, can be introduced at a day's notice and although in most cases both houses get a vote no ammendments are allowed and a strict timetable for debate is in place. There are anything between 500 and 1000 statutory instruments laid down every year.

Basically it's a rubber stamp exercise especially with a large government majority.

So where we are right now..

I'm not saying Royal Mail are ready to go with this right now but if the resolve was there it could potentially be in place in a week.

I’ve no idea if your reading of all this is correct but if it is then well done. And if your correct then 5 day letters are coming the week after this shitty union deal is voted through.

[rogersh]

In a CWU engagement session today NEC council member, Tony Bouch, confirmed the USO review by Ofcom was not due to come in until 2022.

[Woody Guthrie]

In a CWU engagement session today NEC council member, Tony Bouch, confirmed the USO review by Ofcom was not due to come in until 2022.

The union has misunderstood or is deliberately misrepresenting both the nature of the two reviews and the postal services act. This was confirmed to me by Ofcom.

This is how Ofcom describe the review concluded in November 2020

This document contains our review. As is required under Section 34 of the Act, we have provided a copy of this review to the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). It is for the UK Government to determine whether any changes are needed to the minimum requirements and to bring any proposals before Parliament.

This is how they describe the review due in 2022

As set out in our Plan of Work1, we are undertaking a review of the future regulatory framework for post. This will consider issues affecting the broader postal sector as people’s reliance on parcels continues to grow. This is separate to this assessment of user needs. We will engage with stakeholders on a range of issues, including access regulation for letters, consumer issues in the parcels and letters markets, and how regulation can support a modern wellfunctioning parcels market that delivers benefits to end users. We intend to publish a call for inputs on these issues in Q4 2020/21.

I think it's pretty clear that the review in 2020 has enabled the changes required in the USO and was specifically designed to do so given that its title exactly mirrors the legislation.

[jacobliam]

Look at in now. You ever have an issue with your round the response you get is “take your parcels”. Mon-fri letters is coming ASAP for them.
I’ll be bang honest if that means it’s a skeleton staff sat and sun then happy days. More time with the family.

[Coffee lover]

Lets hope so it means we work less Saturdays even if it’s just one in four Sundays or one in for Saturday that’s better than only having one in six Saturdays off bring it on

[Manboat]

Between the uso potentially changing then and being able to leave mail in for days at a time with this new economy mail product we better hope parcels don’t go back over as we’ll be well over staffed, I had a few quiet days last week and if I had the option of leaving mail in I’d of been finished a few hours early and there was no surplus of anyone else’s work to help out with either, hope it’s just a blip and everyone is skint

[Woody Guthrie]

Between the uso potentially changing then and being able to leave mail in for days at a time with this new economy mail product we better hope parcels don’t go back over

I personally think that the union is sleepwalking into something big.

Something doesn't sit right in the way that Royal Mail suddenly about faced on a business plan and have signed up to an agreement that pays everything upfront and guarantees them absolutely nothing.

HQ is so busy congratulating themselves that no one has stopped to think why with no pressure of strikes and in the middle of a pandemic Royal Mail have agreed to such a soft agreement.

Of course I might not be giving them enough credit, HQ may know what's coming and are just being dishonest.

[Manboat]

I know where your coming from Woody, I think eventually mail will have to be delivered around 3 days a week and staff massively reduced to keep shareholders happy, to be honest I’ve only had mail delivered about twice in 10 days and it was mainly d2ds and my wage slip and junk Mail, it’s unsustainable walking up people’s drives daily with this junk and that’s obviously why they want this economy mail product in, hopefully parcels will be enough to keep plenty of us in jobs and only people who want to go get to go.

[SpacePhoenix]

Between the uso potentially changing then and being able to leave mail in for days at a time with this new economy mail product we better hope parcels don’t go back over as we’ll be well over staffed, I had a few quiet days last week and if I had the option of leaving mail in I’d of been finished a few hours early and there was no surplus of anyone else’s work to help out with either, hope it’s just a blip and everyone is skint

It's been dead here over the last week as well.

When I think about all the mail that I personally have received in the post over the last year that wasn't a packet, none of it was needed urgently, and could have all been delivered in one go at the end of the week. I could see RM eventually looking at flats and letters being once a week and parcels, Tracked and SDs being 7-days a week

[bennny7]

Reading between the lines of the union they know its comming they want a yes vote to take the money now

[Manboat]

Yeh this economy mail is pretty much that With being able to leave junk Mail for 4 days, people may end up just skimming through for important mail on a daily basis and leaving the junk all week till Saturday, mind you if they haven’t got the parcels to take them to their time that would be pointless I suppose. Strange times ahead

[smok3y666]

In a CWU engagement session today NEC council member, Tony Bouch, confirmed the USO review by Ofcom was not due to come in until 2022.

Which is less than a year away.

[mags999]

well today was very light if this carries on those who want vrs will probably get them theres no way they can make savings unless they remove bodies

[wallan]

Not all 4 of the UK Parliments will agree to what could be proposed / Implemented