Royal Mail could cut delivery days to just three a week

       Rishi Sunak has insisted he is “absolutely committed” to ensuring that Royal Mail deliveries continue six days a week amid suggestions they could be dramatically scaled back.

       The essential service used by millions of Britons could be cut to just three days a week following warnings from the industry watchdog Ofcom that the postal service is “unsustainable” without reform.

       But the Prime Minister was quick to rule out the controversial plan, saying in the Commons today he was determined the Monday to Saturday service “remains as it is”.

       Asked at Prime Minister’s Questions if under his watch there will be no reductions in postal services provided by Royal Mail, Mr Sunak said: “I agree about the importance of the Royal Mail’s universal service obligation, and as you will have heard from the minister this morning, we remain absolutely committed to ensuring that it remains as it is.”

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       Other options being considered by Ofcom include allowing Royal Mail more time – potentially up to five days – to deliver a letter.

       Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said the Government would “engage with” the watchdog’s suggestions, including by taking part in a consultation on future service levels.

       He said: “We will consider any proposals in the round, beyond what we have set out about the importance of Saturday deliveries and the need to provide certainty to many businesses that rely on them.”

       Asked whether there were any concerns the Royal Mail could collapse without service reforms, the spokesman said: “I don’t think that is the choice before us.”

       Regulator Ofcom proposes scaling back of delivery services (Image: Getty)

       Any attempt to scale back services under the Universal Service Obligation, which requires six-day-a-week delivery to 32 million addresses for the fixed price of a stamp, faces fierce opposition.

       Tina McKenzie, policy chair at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “Trading essential services for short-term savings is a slippery slope that may compromise the trust small businesses place in Royal Mail.

       “Considering that 25 per cent of them rely on the postal service, these proposals could cause real disruption to our economy.

       “They will not just impact the householder waiting for birthday cards or hospital appointments. Many have built their business operations around the postal service, from the cake seller who needs to send a last-minute topper to letterbox flower companies which rely on next-day deliveries.”

       Sir Keir Starmer refusesd to say whether Labour would commit to six-day mail delivery (Image: Getty)

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       She said small firms cannot afford to switch to other courier services, which can cost 200 per cent more than Royal Mail.

       “All of these firms have already had to handle Royal Mail cyber-attacks and strike action, highlighting how fragile the post system can be,” Ms McKenzie said.

       Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer declined to say whether his party would maintain deliveries six days a week.

       When asked whether Labour would promise faster deliveries, he said: “I’m very concerned about this because the universal obligation is really important.

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       “Obviously there’s a report out and we need to look at it and review it and take on board what is said in the report; look at what the response of the Government is and make decisions accordingly. But at the moment I think we’ve just got the report so we need to reflect on it.”

       Pressed on whether he would give a firm commitment to Saturday deliveries being maintained, Sir Keir said: “I think we should reflect on the report and see what the actions of this Government is.”

       Research by Citizens Advice has found that 25 per cent of Britons were hit by letter delays in one month – equivalent to 12.1million people.

       The four English regions that were hit hardest were the South East (31%), East (29%), London (29%) and the South West (28%).

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       Campaigner Dennis Reed, director at Silver Voices – a campaign group for the over 60s – called the new proposals “weak” and “pathetic”.

       The 75 year old said: “I think Ofcom’s response is pathetic to be honest. They are a really weak regulator.

       “They seem to be rolling over to what Royal Mail wants and basically endorsing the very poor performance of Royal Mail up to now, rather than insisting that Royal Mail sticks with its contract.

       “I think we need to realise that we are talking about a public service and just because it has been privatised, we need to realise that Royal Mail should be providing a public service rather than stonking great profits for its shareholders.”

       Ofcom estimates the 500-year-old company could save between ￡100million and ￡200million a year if delivery days are cut to five per week, and between ￡400million and ￡650million if there were just three postal days.

       In November, Royal Mail was fined ￡5.6million by Ofcom for failing to meet first and second-class delivery targets during the 2022-23 financial year.

       Martin Seidenberg, Royal Mail Group chief executive, said: “Ofcom’s report demonstrates that reform is urgently needed to protect the future of the one-price-goes-anywhere Universal Service.

       "We are doing everything in our power to transform, but it is not sustainable to maintain a network built for 20 billion letters when we are now only delivering seven billion.

       “We have been calling on Government and Ofcom to tackle this issue for four years, and the lack of action means that we are now facing a much more serious situation.

       “Whilst other countries have grasped the opportunity to change, the UK is being left behind. There has been a lot of discussion about dropping Saturday letter deliveries in the UK, but as other countries have shown, there are a range of options to consider.

       “A modern and sustainable postal service is crucial for our people, our company and the customers we serve. We want to engage with all stakeholders as part of the process to find an outcome that will allow us to compete and adapt to today’s realities.”

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