MSP Column - Royal Mail complaints spike as first class post takes a week

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By Stuart McMilllan MSP (SNP, Inverclyde)

https://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/new ... akes-week/

It’s approaching a year since my office began to receive complaints from residents about the Royal Mail.

At that time, I didn’t foresee how significant the problems would turn out to be in the run-up to Christmas, and I anticipated service levels returning to a satisfactory level within the first few months of the year.

Sadly, that has not been the case – and in the past few weeks, the volume of complaints I’m receiving has spiked again.

Worryingly, recent complaints have highlighted first class mail taking upwards of a week to arrive.

People pay for first class stamps typically because something is urgent or they want it to arrive within a day or two. It’s therefore completely unacceptable that the mail service has become so unreliable that even first class mail is taking so long to be delivered.

I subsequently arranged to meet senior representatives from the Royal Mail in the Scottish Parliament last week, shortly before raising a question in the chamber about mail delivery delays.

In this meeting, I highlighted numerous examples which demonstrate the scale of the problem: NHS appointments missed, bank cards gone awry, jury citations unanswered, and utilities bills unpaid and interest added.

The implications of this aren’t small either – NHS appointments being wasted doesn’t help reduce backlogs; people not attending jury duty is a criminal offence and risks delaying trials when again, there is a backlog in the justice system, and consumers risk being hit with late fees for not paying bills that they never received on time.

During our meeting, the Royal Mail were apologetic and assured me that plans are under way to prepare for Christmas. Additional agency staff are being hired, and additional delivery routes have been added to try meet demand.

Fundamentally, our postal workers are working hard to deliver our mail but are faced with a system that seems to be working against them. The universal service reforms are yet to deliver an improved service and trust in the brand is at rock bottom.

The Royal Mail might now be privatised, but the UK Government still owns a golden share – and it’s why in my question to the Minister for Public Finance last week, I asked the Scottish Government what dialogue it has had with the UK Government about the Royal Mail.

It’s almost comical that her response advised that both she and the Minister for Business and Fair Work has written to the Royal Mail directly but have not received a reply.

I want to reassure constituents that I will continue to highlight local issues and will keep pushing for local management to receive additional support.

I’ll continue to engage with the likes of Ofcom and Consumer Scotland as well so that they’re aware of the continued problems locally, and I hope that interventions are forthcoming so we can be assured that a repeat of last year is not on the cards.