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Saturday deliveries could be axed if the Royal Mail has its way – with regulator Ofcom saying the idea is “under review”.
Britain’s postal service is facing a radical overhaul next month, with the cost of a first-class stamp set to jump by 15 pence to £1.25 from October 2.
Chief commercial officer Nick Landon also said the Royal Mail’s current obligation to deliver letters in six days was becoming unrealistic.
He said: “We understand the economic challenges that many of our customers are currently facing and have considered the price changes very carefully in light of the significant decline in letter volumes.”
Letter volumes have reduced dramatically over recent years, down more than 60 percent from their peak in 2004/5 and 30 percent since the pandemic, Mr Landon continued.
A separate statement issed by the Royal Mail said it was “vital” that the universal service “adapts to reflect this new reality”.
The spokesman said: “Royal Mail has been clear that the cost of delivering an ever-decreasing number of letters to an ever-growing number of households six days a week is unsustainable.”
Research published in 2020 by regulator Ofcom showed that providing a letter service only on weekdays would meet the needs of 97 percent of consumers and small and medium-sized businesses.
He added: “Given the ongoing decline in letters, Royal Mail continues to call on Ofcom and the Government to review and modernise the USO to better reflect changing customer needs.”
Being required to provide a service which customers have said they no longer need, at significant cost to Royal Mail, increased the threat to the “sustainability” of the USO, the Royal Mail spokesman pointed out.
He said: “We want to work with all stakeholders including Ofcom, Government, our unions and our customers to enable change quickly and to protect the long-term sustainability of the one-price-goes-anywhere Universal Service.”
The new price will come into force on Monday October 2 and means that stamp prices have more than doubled since 2012, the year before Royal Mail was privatised.
The universal service obligation (USO) forces Royal Mail to deliver letters six days a week to all 32 million addresses in the UK for the same price, regardless of where the post is going.
A statement issued by Ofcom today said while the last few years had demonstrated the importance of postal services, the way people were using them was changing.
The statement added: “Letters remain important to many of us, particularly those who have difficulty relying on electronic communications and transactions.
“However, the number of letters we send and receive has declined by 46 percent over the last decade, as people and businesses increasingly use digital alternatives. And as the number of letters delivered each day falls, the average cost of delivery is increasing.”
Ofcom added: “Last year, we concluded our latest review of postal regulation, which set our regulatory framework for postal services from 2022 to 2027. Since then, there has been growing public debate around the long-term future of the universal service.
“We therefore believe that now is a good time to consider the longer-term future of the universal service, ahead of any future review of the regulatory framework.”
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