Royal Mail set to scrap second class letter delivery days in big shake-up

Royal Mail is set to be allowed to deliver second-class letters only on alternate weekdays and not on Saturdays under proposals to shake-up postal service rules announced the industry regulator, it has been reported today (Thursday).

Royal Mail could scrap second class letter deliveries on Saturdays and reduce the service to alternate weekdays under new plans announced by regulator Ofcom. Ofcom said cutting second class letters to every other week day, but still within three working days of collection and with a price cap.

It will maintain first-class letters six days a week. Natalie Black, Ofcom’s Group Director for Networks and Communications, said: “The world has changed – we’re sending a third of the letters we were twenty years ago.

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“We need to reform the postal service to protect its future and ensure it delivers for the whole of the UK. But we’re safeguarding what matters most to people – First Class mail six days a week at the same price throughout the UK, and a price cap on Second Class stamps.”

Emma Gilthorpe, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Mail said: “Ofcom has recognised the urgent need for change so that the future of the Universal Service can be protected for all. Our proposal was developed after speaking to thousands of people across the country and is designed to preserve what matters most for our customers – maintaining a one-price-goes-anywhere service to 32 million UK addresses and First Class deliveries six days a week.

“As Ofcom’s analysis shows, it is no longer financially sustainable to maintain a network built for 20 billion letters when we are now only delivering 6.7 billion. Reform is crucial to support a modern, sustainable, and reliable postal service for our customers, our company and our people.”

Its provisional recommendations also included cutting Royal Mail’s delivery targets, for first class mail from 93% to 90% delivered the next day, and for second class mail from 98.5% to 95% delivered within three days.

Ofcom’s consultation on the proposed changes will run until 10 April, and it expects to publish its decision in the summer.