T
he Business Secretary mentioned she doesn’t have plans to approve the Royal Mail switching to a five-days-a-week operation.
Kemi Badenoch prompt to MPs that permitting the Royal Mail to shed its Saturday supply and pick-up duties would imply it “stops being the service which you want”.
The Royal Mail’s common service obligation (USO) forces it to ship letters six days per week to all 32 million addresses within the UK for a similar value regardless of the place the letters are going.
Ofcom this month introduced it’s reviewing the UK’s common postal service regime.
The watchdog mentioned it will be gathering proof on how the minimal service degree “might need to evolve to more closely meet consumer needs”.
The Royal Mail, which was privatised beneath the Conservative-led coalition authorities in 2012, has lobbied for its obligations to be lowered, arguing the six-day service is unviable.
The agency blamed the dearth of reform for having to extend the worth of first-class stamps, having introduced it is going to put them up by 15p in October to £1.25.
We will take a look at the Ofcom recommendation however I actually don’t have any plans to alter the USO
Ofcom’s resolution to evaluation the USO comes solely three months after the Department for Business and Trade mentioned it will not help a change to a mid-week solely service.
Junior minister Kevin Hollinrake wrote to the Business and Trade Committee in June saying: “We currently have no plans to change the minimum requirements of the universal postal service as set out in the Postal Services Act 2011, including six-day letter deliveries.”
Ms Badenoch repeated the place when she appeared earlier than the committee on Tuesday.
Asked if the Government would settle for an Ofcom advice for a swap to a five-day operation, the Cabinet minister mentioned: “From my perspective, advice is advice.
“We have been lobbied on this before.
“We will look at the Ofcom advice but I certainly don’t have any plans to change the USO.”
Ms Badenoch added: “I don’t believe that the USO is the place to start in terms of looking at the Royal Mail’s business.
“It is, like the Post Office, incredibly difficult, and it is also difficult times for them to be operating.
“But I think if you start to move things like the USO, then it stops being the service which you want to be delivered.”
She mentioned Mr Hollinrake was at present in discussions with the enterprise to work out “how best to get themselves on an even keel”.
David Bickerton, a director basic on the Department for Business and Trade, instructed MPs: “Ofcom has announced it is looking at the future changes to the USO and will produce options for views at the end of the year.
“So I think what we will do is we will get that advice and we will consider it.”
