Royal Mail to slash number of days second class post is delivered in major service shake-up
Royal Mail to slash number of days second class post is delivered in major service shake-up
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Royal Mail could scrap second class letter deliveries on Saturdays and reduce the service to alternate weekdays under new plans announced by regulator Ofcom. First class post will continue to be delivered Monday to Saturday, while the price of a second class stamp will stay capped to inflation until at least 2029. The plans for Ofcom were announced today as part of its review into the future of Royal Mail.
Ofcom said the number of letters being delivered to UK homes has fallen from 20 billion twenty years ago, to 6.6 billion today. Royal Mail expects it to be 4 billion a year in the next few years. Ofcom estimates that cutting down the number of second class deliveries would save Royal Mail between £250million and £425million. However, the regulator warned that these changes alone are "unlikely to be enough" to secure the longer-term financial sustainability of Royal Mail, and said the company must improve its service. Royal Mail has been fined more than £16million in the last 18 months over poor performance and missing delivery targets.
Ofcom is suggesting reducing the number of first class mail that must be delivered the next day from 93% to 90%, and from 98.5% to 95% for second class mail delivered within three days. This will bring them more in line with other international and European markets, it added. The regulator has opened a consultation on the changes and expects to publish a final decision this summer. Natalie Black, Ofcom’s Group Director for Networks and Communications, said: “The world has changed – we’re sending a third of the letters we were twenty years ago.
“We need to reform the postal service to protect its future and ensure it delivers for the whole of the UK. But we’re safeguarding what matters most to people – First Class mail six days a week at the same price throughout the UK, and a price cap on Second Class stamps.”. Emma Gilthorpe, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Mail said: “Ofcom has recognised the urgent need for change so that the future of the Universal Service can be protected for all. Our proposal was developed after speaking to thousands of people across the country and is designed to preserve what matters most for our customers - maintaining a one-price-goes-anywhere service to 32 million UK addresses and First Class deliveries six days a week.
