FACTS ABOUT ROYAL MAIL PRIVATISATION (SOURCE WIKIPEDIA.ORG)

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Royal Mail was not privatised in the 1980s or 1990s, and currently remains a state-owned company. However the Postal Services Act 2011 enables the government to privatise up to 90% of Royal Mail, with 10% being held by Royal Mail employees.[5][6] The first sale of shares is expected in late 2013 or early 2014.[7] The Act makes provision for Post Office Ltd. to continue to be owned by the Crown or a mutual ownership structure.

Under the Post Office Act 1969 the General Post Office was changed from a government department to a statutory corporation, known simply as the Post Office. The office of Postmaster General was abolished and replaced with the positions of Chairman and Chief Executive in the new company.[24]

During the 1980s both British Telecom and Girobank were split off from the Post Office and sold, however the postal services section remained in public ownership as privatisation of this was deemed to be too unpopular

However in the 1990s President of the Board of Trade Michael Heseltine began investigating a possible sale and eventually a Green Paper on Postal Reform was published in May 1994, outlining various options for privatisation. The ideas though, proved controversial and were dropped from the 1994 Queen's Speech after a number of Conservative MPs warned Heseltine they would not vote for the legislation.[25]

After a change of government in 1997, the Labour administration decided to keep the Post Office state-owned but with more commercial freedom.

This led to the Postal Services Act 2000, where the Post Office became a public limited company renamed Consignia plc. However, the change proved to be highly unpopular with both the public and even the organisation's own employees, with the Communication Workers Union boycotting the name.

As part of the 2000 Act the government set up a postal regulator, the Postal Services Commission, known as Postcomm, which offered licences to private companies to deliver mail.

From 1 January 2006, the Royal Mail lost its 350-year monopoly and the British postal market became fully open to competition

On 1 October 2008, Postwatch was merged into the new consumer watchdog, Consumer Focus.

In 2008, due to a continuing fall in mail volumes the government commissioned an independent review of the postal services sector by Richard Hooper, the former deputy chairman of Ofcom.

The recommendations in the Hooper Review led to Business Secretary Lord Mandelson to seek to part privatise the company by selling a minority stake to a commercial partner.

However despite legislation for the sale passing the House of Lords, it was abandoned in the House of Commons after strong opposition from backbench Labour MPs. The government later cited the difficult economic conditions for the reason behind the retreat.[27]

Following the 2010 general election the new Business Secretary in the Coalition government, Vince Cable, asked Richard Hooper to update his report.

Based on the Hooper Review Update the government passed the Postal Services Act 2011. The Act allows for up to 90% of Royal Mail to be privatised with at least 10% of shares being held by Royal Mail employees.[30]

As part of the 2011 Act, Postcomm was merged into the communications regulator Ofcom on 1 October 2011, with Ofcom introducing a new simplified set of regulations for postal services on 27 March 2012.[31]

On 1 April 2012 Royal Mail's subsidiary Post Office Ltd was separated from the group.[32]

The Act also contains the option for Post Office Ltd to become a mutual organisation in the future

The Royal Mail is regulated by Ofcom, while consumer interests are represented by Consumer Focus.

The Government department responsible for the Royal Mail is the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, however the public financial interest is managed by the Shareholder Executive.

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