The Times view on Royal Mail’s declining standards

Royal Mail is required to deliver 93 per cent of first-class post within one working day of collection

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In a world where citizens’ interactions with the state, the economy and each other have increasingly moved online, it is easy to forget that the post still contains serious business. Many rely on mail for time-critical documents like NHS appointment letters, bills, tax notices and fines that spawn court summonses when ignored. If these letters are missed, that is more than a trifling inconvenience. One cancer patient recently told The Times that letters from his doctor had arrived after he was expected to attend appointments.

Such delays are too frequent. Royal Mail is required to deliver 93 per cent of first-class post within one working day of collection and 98.5 per cent of second-class post within three working days. The company failed to hit its