HoC Question Postal Services Business, Innovation and Skills

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Ian Murray (Shadow Minister (Business, Innovation and Skills); Edinburgh South, Labour)

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills

(1) what assessment he has made of the potential effect of end-to-end competition in the postal sector on postal workers' pay and terms and conditions of employment;

(2) what assessment he has made of the effect of other postal operators extending end-to-end services on postal services in rural areas;

(3) what assessment he has made of the effect on the sustainability of the universal postal service of the plans of other postal operators to extend end-to-end postal services.


Jennifer Willott (Cardiff Central, Liberal Democrat)

It is Ofcom's responsibility as the independent regulator for postal services in the UK to monitor any impacts of market competition on the provision of the universal service in the UK. Parliament has given Ofcom the powers to intervene if the provision of the universal service is ever at serious risk from the effects of postal competition.

Ofcom has an effective and ongoing monitoring regime to track the financial sustainability of the universal postal service. In March 2013 Ofcom published guidance on its approach to assessing the impact of end-to-end competition in the postal sector. In its November 2013 annual monitoring report Ofcom considered

“it is not necessary to impose any additional regulatory conditions on end-to-end operators to secure the ongoing provision of a universal postal service at this point in time”.

If Ofcom's ongoing monitoring regime does not prompt the need for any earlier assessment, it will carry out a full review of the impact of market competition towards the end of 2015 as a matter of course. This will ensure that the regulator has made a detailed assessment of the actual and potential impact of emerging end-to-end competition based on a better understanding of how the postal market is developing. More information about Ofcom's regulatory regime can be found on its website

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Any questions or concerns relating to postal workers' pay and terms and conditions of employment are the operational responsibility of Royal Mail and should therefore be raised direct with Royal Mail's management.