Postal delivery days could be cut by Royal Mail as Ofcom calls for a national debate on the future of the UK’s postal service.
Ofcom shared options for reform including reducing days to six, five or three a week to ensure targets are kept on track as the regulator fined the universal postal service £5.6 million last year.
Dame Melanie Dawes, Ofcom’s Chief Executive said: “Postal workers are part of the fabric of our society and are critical to communities up and down the country. But we’re sending half as many letters as we did in 2011, and receiving many more parcels. The universal service hasn’t changed since then, it’s getting out of date and will become unsustainable if we don’t take action.
“So, we’ve set out options for reform so there can be a national discussion about the future of universal post. In the meantime, we’re making sure prices will remain affordable by capping the price of Second-Class stamps.”
Martin Seidenberg, International Distributions Services Group Chief Executive Officer, 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.”
Events will be held in the coming months to discuss the evidence by Ofcom as they invite interested parties to share views on their analysis by April 3, 2024.