Privatised RM will deliver post more quickly, minister

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Privatised Royal Mail will deliver post more quickly, minister suggests (or Minister lies again)

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A privatised Royal Mail will deliver the post more quickly, Business minister Michael Fallon has suggested.

Postal services minister Michael Fallon made the suggestion in a speech setting out the Coalition’s plans to privatise Royal Mail in the next 12 months.

Mr Fallon repeated that the Government has still not decided whether to float Royal Mail on the London Stock Market, or sell a stake in it to a rival firm. However he announced that the investment banks which will run any flotation of Royal Mail will be appointed by the end of next month.

Mr Fallon told an audience at the Policy Exchange that privatising Britain's national postal operator was “the way to put Royal Mail onto a long-term sustainable basis”.

One advantage was privatised postal operators in Germany and Austria had been able to deliver post quicker than the state controlled Royal Mail.

He said: “Levels of service have remained consistently high – for example in 2012, the percentage of letters delivered next day in Germany and Austria was 95 per cent, compared to a 93 per cent regulatory target in the UK.”

He added: “The European postal market is now full liberalised. It is a commercial market and one that I believe is best served by fully commercial companies with the freedom to operate on a fully commercial basis.

“This will mean that postal services will be run efficiently and effectively. And that will benefit all postal users and ensure that universal postal services can be maintained.”

Cash raised from the privatisation would help Royal Mail to “modernise and become more efficient and competitive”, Mr Fallon said.

Mr Fallon said that the decision to privatise the national postal service was not “based on ideology”.

He said: “It will be practical, logical and commercial decision. And very few people now question whether the likes of BT, BP or Rolls Royce should have remained state-owned.”

Not selling off Royal Mail would deprive schools and hospitals of vital funds, he said, because the state would have to fund capital investment.

He said: “Unless Royal Mail has the capability in the future to access equity markets, every £1 that it borrows is another £1 on the national debt. That means growing the national debt.”

Mr Fallon also asked the Communication Workers Union – which is balloting its members at Royal Mail on industrial action this summer – to work with the Government on a share scheme which will give workers 10 per cent of the company.

He said: “I strongly believe that employees should share in the company’s future success and dividends. I urge the CWU to put ideology aside and take up that invitation so that their members do not lose out.”

Mr Fallon stressed that the taxpayer had "not made a profit" on a deal last year which saw the Government take on Royal Mail's pension scheme, insisting that this scheme would cost taxpayers £1.3billion in 2013/14 alone.

Campaigners pointed out that a first class letter in Austria cost 90p to spend and said that privatising Royal Mail risked pushing up first class prices.

Mario Dunn, campaign director of Save Our Royal Mail, said: “A First Class stamp in Austria costs nearly 90p. With privatisation, the real threat in the UK is the £1 First Class stamp.

"Customers should not be held to ransom with large price increases to meet either quality of service improvements or the need to return large profits to private equity owners.”

[UnhappyGremlin]

A privatised Royal Mail will deliver the post more quickly, Business minister Michael Fallon has suggested.

One advantage was privatised postal operators in Germany and Austria had been able to deliver post quicker than the state controlled Royal Mail.

Why would we be able to deliver mail more quickly? Makes a sweeping statement, then fails to provide any evidence to support his theory.
Just because they do it in Germany/Austria doesn't mean it will happen/is achievable here in the UK.
I also believe we have a busier postal service than those countries.
There is so much that would affect something like that, like the businesses state before privatisation, mail/staff volumes etc.
Whether or not the managers are any good at what they do......
The list is endless.
He is an idiot.

[borders]

I wonder if he still thinks that after watching Dispatches tonight ?? , what a frecking numpty

[NWpostie]

A new species was seen flying round their HQ, it was recently named Porcus Aviatus. in layman terms Flying Pigs.