Royal Mail in Parliament’s spotlight

Parliamentary scrutiny of Royal Mail has intensified in recent weeks, with the Business and Trade Select Committee holding a high-profile hearing on persistent service failures.

Senior executives – including the company’s leadership, regulator Ofcom and the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) – were called to give evidence, reflecting growing concern among MPs about missed delivery targets and declining performance.

This followed a Commons debate on 18 March, in which MPs raised widespread concerns about delayed deliveries. Responding, Minister Blair McDougall MP said that “the Government will continue to hold Royal Mail to account.”

The backdrop is the reform of the Universal Service Obligation, including Second Class deliveries being reduced to every second day, Monday to Friday only. The rollout of this new model is currently the subject of continued negotiations between Royal Mail and the CWU.

If you’re involved in direct mail, and your customers are being affected, we’d like to hear about it for feedback to the Department of Business & Trade.

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