Daily Express YOU WILL DELIVER! PM VOWS NO ROYAL MAIL CUTBACKS

[iHateD2Ds]

Rishi sunak has insisted that Royal Mail will not slash its deliveries to just three days a week under his watch.

The Prime Minister said he is “absolutely committed” to ensuring the postal service continues six days a week, amid suggestions it could be dramatically scaled back.

Watchdog Ofcom has warned the national postal service risks becoming “unsustainable” without reform. This led to proposals that Royal Mail delivery schedules are cut in half.

But the PM was quick to rule out the controversial plan, telling the Commons yesterday he is determined the Monday
To Saturday service continues. Asked at Prime Minister’s Questions if under his watch there will be reductions in postal services provided by Royal Mail, Mr Sunak said: “I agree about the importance of the Royal Mail’s universal service obligation and we remain absolutely committed to ensuring that it remains as it is.”

Other options being considered by Ofcom include allowing Royal Mail more time – potentially up to five days – to deliver a letter.

Mr Sunak’s official spokesman said the Government would “engage with” the watchdog’s suggestions, taking part in a consultation on future service levels.

He added: “We will consider any proposals in the round, beyond what we have set out about the importance of Saturday deliveries and the need to provide certainty to many businesses that rely on them.”

Asked whether there were any concerns Royal Mail could collapse without service reforms, the spokesman said: “I don’t think that is the choice before us.”

Any attempt to scale back postal rounds under the universal service obligation, which requires six-day-a-week delivery to 32 million addresses, will face fierce opposition.

Tina McKenzie, policy chair at the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “Trading essential services for short-term savings is a slippery slope that may compromise the trust small businesses place in Royal Mail.

“Considering that 25% of them rely on the postal service, these proposals could cause real disruption to our economy.

“They will not just impact the householder waiting for birthday cards or hospital appointments. Many have built their business operations around the postal service, from the cake seller who needs to send a last-minute topper, to letterbox flower companies which rely on next-day deliveries.”

She said small firms cannot afford to switch to other courier services, which she claimed can cost 200% more than Royal Mail. Ms McKenzie said: “All of these firms have already had to handle Royal Mail cyber attacks and strike action, highlighting how fragile the post system can be.”

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer declined to say whether his party would maintain deliveries six days a week. When asked whether Labour would promise faster deliveries, he said: “I’m very concerned about this because the universal obligation is important.

Obviously there’s a report out and we need to look at it and review it and take on board what is said in the report, look at what the response of the Government is and make decisions accordingly.” Ofcom estimates the 500-year-old company could save up to £200million a year if delivery days are cut to five per week, and £650million if there were just three postal days. Dennis Reed, director at over-60s group Silver Voices, said: “I think Ofcom’s response is pathetic to be honest. They are a really weak regulator.

“They seem to be rolling over to what Royal Mail wants and basically endorsing the very poor performance of Royal Mail up to now, rather than insisting that Royal Mail sticks with its contract.

“Royal Mail should be providing a public service rather than stonking great profits for shareholders.”

Martin Seidenberg, Royal Mail group chief executive, said: “Ofcom’s report demonstrates that reform is urgently needed to protect the future of the one price goes anywhere universal service.

Inquiry...former Post Office investigatorRaymond Grant yesterday
“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.”


HOW OUR SERVICE COMPARES WITH OTHER COUNTRIES

France: Standard letters are delivered within three days.

Last year, the timbre rouge, a red stamp guaranteeing next day delivery, was replaced by a modern digital equivalent.

The “services plus” scheme now offers tracked delivery within two days, and compensation for any late arrivals.

Denmark: Arguably the most bullish in Europe in reducing its postal service, driven in part bya desire to reduce paper waste. Standard deliveries were taken down to just one a week in 2016. The requirement for a single firm to handle a national service has been ditched.

Italy: The Italian government has allowed its service to be reduced significantly, with the introduction of an alternate day delivery with a target of 80 per cent arriving within one, two or three days depending on the region.

Spain: The state-owned Sociedad Estatal de Correos y Telegrafos, which started life in 1716, handles mail in Spain.

Rates differ by region – for example, those on the Canary Islands pay more.

In 2017, a post office in rural Zamora went viral after it emerged it only opened for 15 minutes a day due to scarce postal traffic in the area.

[Grinder64]

Sunak won't be the next Prime Minister even if the country foolishly returns another term of these bastards & just having heard Yvette Cooper shuffle evasively around a direct question regarding the safety of the USO on LBC via Nick Ferrari I sincerely doubt 6 day letter schedules will be a reality in the oncoming years whoever is steering the bus.

[enskied]

We need to replace the the postal ombudsman OFCOM.
They have consistently failed to call RM to task, been happily spoon fed the lies. Failed to scrutinise the reported data from management.
They are complicit in this mess by not conducting checks on RM from day one.

[Mr Rush]

We need to replace the the postal ombudsman OFCOM.

Bring back Tony Benn as Postmaster General. I know he's been dead for ten years - that's eminently more capable than Ofcom.

[Basildon Bond]

Can anyone explain why Ofcom says it's a £200 million saving for ditching one day (Saturday) but a £650 million saving for dropping to three days?

I mean, if letters get delivered six days a week "we're all in trouble - don't question it; it's just fact". Drop one day (Saturday) and the company saves "£200 million" for just that one day but if it gets reduced to to three days per week the company does not saving £600 million, but suddenly it saves an extra £50 million on top. This is all assuming the £200 million saving from a Saturday can be applied equally to week day savings too.

And while everyone is focused on the numbers and savings, what does RM actually need to save? I mean is £200m enough? Is £650m enough? What does it need to save? Seems like a nice fit that Ofcom reports that "Royal Mail reported an operating loss of £319m for the first half of 2023-24". So what, we assume about a £640m loss for the year and that the three-day/£650m saving number looks lovely based on that?

[enskied]

Can anyone explain why Ofcom says it's a £200 million saving for ditching one day (Saturday) but a £650 million saving for dropping to three days?

I mean, if letters get delivered six days a week "we're all in trouble - don't question it; it's just fact". Drop one day (Saturday) and the company saves "£200 million" for just that one day but if it gets reduced to to three days per week the company does not saving £600 million, but suddenly it saves an extra £50 million on top. This is all assuming the £200 million saving from a Saturday can be applied equally to week day savings too.

And while everyone is focused on the numbers and savings, what does RM actually need to save? I mean is £200m enough? Is £650m enough? What does it need to save? Seems like a nice fit that Ofcom reports that "Royal Mail reported an operating loss of £319m for the first half of 2023-24". So what, we assume about a £640m loss for the year and that the three-day/£650m saving number looks lovely based on that?

And all those "savings" get paid to Shareholders.

[dazzler123]

it is laughable, covincing the public RM could save £650m like its going back into investing in the service. Its going into rich peoples pockets

[kazardaimenu]

That’s just it. They won’t re invest the profits and upgrade the fleet or develop smarter tech to make the job easier. The money will be taken out of the business as we soldier on with 15 year old vans fit for the scrap heap.