Robert Halfon MP: Royal Mail managers continue to let down residents across the town

Statement from the Rt. Hon. Robert Halfon MP Royal Mail Postal Services in Harlow

DESPITE the efforts of the hard working postmen and women in Harlow, Royal Mail managers continue to let down residents across the town – the service they are providing for Harlow people is simply not good enough. It is wrong that letters and parcels which have been sent are not being delivered on time, if at all, despite the correct postage being paid.

At present, my constituents tell me that they are lucky to receive one postal delivery every two weeks and, even then, they have been told by Royal Mail staff that only deliveries including parcels are being prioritised. I understand this issue is affecting addresses in the CM17, CM18, CM19 and CM20 postcode areas.

The people of Harlow deserve a reliable, efficient and safe postal service to deliver parcels and letters. I have heard countless examples of missed hospital appointments, delayed birthday and celebration greetings and cancelled orders due to Royal Mail’s failure to deliver. This is simply unacceptable.

Royal Mail has a universal service obligation and they must take urgent action to restore deliveries across Harlow and to clear the backlog. In recent weeks, the service the people of Harlow have received from Royal Mail has fallen far below the standard I and my constituents expect and, despite raising my concerns locally and with colleagues in the Public Affairs department, the service in Harlow has not improved.

As a result, I have escalated my concerns within Royal Mail and have raised my concerns with the Government. Despite having written to Royal Mail’s Chief Executive Officer in September to express my concerns and to demand a better service for Harlow people, I am yet to receive a satisfactory response that reassures me of an imminent and significant increase in performance.

It is clear to me that senior management within Royal Mail do not care enough to take the action required, instead blaming their poor performance on staff recruitment issues. The hardworking postmen and women in Harlow do not deserve to be overworked nor blamed for what seems to me to be a case of poor leadership and management.

Therefore, I am once again calling on Royal Mail to take decisive action to address their operational issues in Harlow and deliver a postal service in which my constituents and I can have confidence.