Royal Mail Demands Urgent Saturday Post Overhaul Amid Missed Delivery Targets
Royal Mail is demanding an urgent end to Saturday second-class deliveries as the postal service continues to miss key delivery targets set by regulator Ofcom. The company revealed that between 29 September and 30 November, only 91.6 per cent of second-class mail arrived within three working days.
First-Class Performance Also Falls Short
First-class service fared even worse, with just 77.5 per cent of letters reaching their destination the next working day. These figures fall significantly short of Ofcom's benchmarks, which mandate 93 per cent of first-class post to be delivered the following day and 98.5 per cent of second-class within three days.
Royal Mail boss Alistair Cochrane admitted the performance was "not good enough" but claimed the current delivery model is fundamentally broken and unsustainable for improving service quality.
Push for Universal Service Reform
Mr Cochrane is pushing for the urgent implementation of changes that would see Saturday second-class deliveries scrapped entirely. He stated: "While these results show improvements for both first- and second-class mail, we recognise that our performance in letters is still not good enough. Unfortunately, under the current delivery model, there is no viable way to significantly and sustainably improve quality of service for customers."
The postal service argues that Universal Service reform is the only solution, and has entered intense discussions with the Communication Workers Union (CWU) to reach an agreement on these changes.
MPs Raise Concerns About Service Failures
The push for reform comes as Royal Mail faces scrutiny from Parliament. The Business and Trade Committee of MPs has given the company two weeks to respond to allegations that it is prioritizing parcel deliveries over letters, resulting in widespread delays across the postal network.
In a letter to Royal Mail, the committee raised significant concerns about reports of "failures in service" that extend beyond normal seasonal pressures. They have demanded "categorical assurance" that parcels are not being prioritized over letters, and have given the company until 2 March to provide commitments to address what they describe as "chaos" in the postal system.
Royal Mail Defends Reform Plans
Royal Mail maintains that pilot programs have shown the proposed delivery model is working, with increased efficiency and improved service levels, even during peak periods like Christmas when volumes doubled. The company stated: "Given strong evidence from the pilots conducted that USO reform will result in significant and sustained improvements in quality of service for customers, Royal Mail sees no alternative to its urgent deployment across the network."
The postal service now faces mounting pressure from both regulatory bodies and parliamentary committees to address service failures while implementing controversial changes to its delivery schedule.
