MP announces survey to hear how widespread the problem is
Concerns have been raised about postal delays in Plymouth - with MP Luke Pollard wanting to know how bad the situation is.
The Sutton and Devonport MP has begun a survey, asking people to report to him instances of late arriving letters and parcels. He said that letters from his own constituents can take “weeks” to arrive or even not turn up at all.
The Labour politician’s plea for responses to his survey has already received more than 100 replies on social media. Some people argued that the Royal Mail should not have been privatised by the Tory/Lib Dem government in 2012 and others claimed that the Royal Mail is prioritising parcels ahead of letters.
The Royal Mail stressed it aims to deliver to all addresses it has mail for, six days a week, but in a “small number of local offices” this may temporarily not be possible due to issues such as high levels of sickness, resourcing, or other factors, when it will rotate deliveries to minimise delays.
But Mr Pollard said the service in Plymouth is not good enough and said: “Lots of people have told me about problems with Royal Mail in Plymouth – from late arrival of letters and parcels, to deliveries not turning up at all.
“It’s a problem I’ve experienced myself, with important letters to constituents sometimes taking weeks to arrive. It’s simply not good enough.”
He added: “People in our city rely on Royal Mail for everything from NHS letters and medical appointments to legal documents. The system must work properly.
“Local posties work hard, but Royal Mail is not operating in a way that meets our needs here in Plymouth.”
He said he had raised concerns with Royal Mail “again and again”, but said he was still not satisfied with its response.
“They’ve told me the system is not experiencing significant problems – and yet folks in Plymouth continue to experience frustrating delays,” Mr Pollard said.
“So, today, I’m launching a survey of residents to hear how widespread the problem is. The more evidence I have, the more powerful our case is with Royal Mail bosses.”
He has asked people to complete the survey and share it with family and friends. It can be found at : https://survey.labour.org.uk/royalmailpsd
The survey asks if people have experienced a problem with late or no post, and how late it was. It asks how often delays were experienced and if they were for letters, parcels or both, and if the delay had caused someone to miss a vital appointment.
Last year, PlymouthLive reported on how Plymouth residents had complained after the post was late just before Christmas.
At the time the Royal Mail insisted the vast majority of items were being delivered on time and that parcels were not given priority.
Royal Mail every day announces which areas are most affected by delays across the country. At the time of writing 46 areas were affected. The list did not include Plymouth but did feature other South West destinations including Cullompton, Ilfracombe and Torrington.
A Royal Mail spokesperson told PlymouthLive: “We take concerns about delayed mail very seriously, particularly where they involve important or time-sensitive correspondence such as NHS appointment letters.”
The spokesperson said that more than 93% of letters are delivered on time and more than 99% within a week and added: “Our posties are out delivering every day.
“However, at times, short-term local issues can affect individual routes, and where this happens, any items not delivered that day are prioritised the next working day.”