DOCSLIB.ORG

Modernise Or Decline Policies to Maintain the Universal Postal

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Modernise Or Decline Policies to Maintain the Universal Postal Modernise or decline Policies to maintain the universal postal service in the United Kingdom. 16 December 2008 An independent review of the UK postal services sector Richard Hooper CBE | Dame Deirdre Hutton | Ian R Smith Cm 7529 £26.60 Modernise or decline Policies to maintain the universal postal service in the United Kingdom. 16 December 2008 An independent review of the UK postal services sector Richard Hooper CBE | Dame Deirdre Hutton | Ian R Smith Cm 7529 £26.60 0 Crown Copyright 2008 The text in this document (excluding the Royal Arms and other departmental or agency logos) may be reproduced free of charge in any format or medium providing it is reproduced accurately and not used in a misleading context.The material must be acknowledged as Crown copyright and the title of the document specified. Where we have identified any third party copyright material you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned. For any other use of this material please write to Office of Public Sector Information, Information Policy Team, Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9 4DU or e-mail: [email protected] ISBN:9780101752923 Contents Acknowledgements 4 Headlines 6 Executive summary 8 Introduction 18 PART 1: SOME BASIC FACTS 22 A brief guide to the postal service 23 Not the Post Office 24 Who uses postal services? 24 Definition of the postal market 25 The letters process 27 The introduction of competition 28 PART 2: THE ISSUES 30 Post matters 31 What is the universal service? 32 What difference does it make? 32 Public opinion 32 Residential consumers 35 Small and medium-sized enterprises 36 Large businesses 37 The impact of liberalisation 38 The market has changed 39 The digital revolution 40 Cyclical change 41 Structural change 41 Challenges and opportunities 42 A positive future 44 Royal Mail faces severe difficulties 47 The significance of Royal Mail 48 The challenge posed by structural decline 48 Royal Mail’s ability to respond to market decline 49 Inefficiency 49 Pension deficit 54 Pricing 55 Labour relations 56 Relationship with the regulator 58 Royal Mail’s financial position 58 The universal service is under threat 60 PART 3: THE CHOICE 62 Modernise or decline? 63 The status quo is untenable 64 Short-term measures 66 2 2 A compensation fund 66 Degrading the universal service 67 Modernisation – in principle 67 PART 4: THE SOLUTION 70 Modernising Royal Mail 71 Modernisation in practice 72 What does Royal Mail need to modernise? 73 Commercial confidence 74 Access to capital 77 Access to corporate experience 77 Meeting these requirements together 79 Partnership 79 Post Office Ltd 82 Pensions 83 A new approach 84 Changes to the regulatory regime 87 A new regulator for a changing market 88 The role of regulation 90 Limitations on the role of regulation 90 The regulator’s duties 91 Regulatory tools 91 Formal market analysis 91 Regulatory powers 92 Cost transparency 93 RPI-X and promoting efficiency 94 A risk-based approach to regulation 95 Benefits of competition for the universal service 95 Impact of competition on Royal Mail’s revenues 95 Competition and the universal service constraint 95 The regulatory framework 97 The downstream access regime 97 The potential for deregulation 100 Value added tax 100 Shared responsibility but clear accountability 102 From policy to practice 104 Sustaining the universal service 104 PART 5: ANNEXES 106 About the report List of figures 107 Glossary of technical terms 109 Evidence to the review Summary of written submissions 115 End-to-end competition 155 Bibliography 157 About the review Terms of reference 162 Members of the panel 163 3 3 Acknowledgements We set out at the beginning of this independent review to engage a wide range of stakeholders with an interest in the future of the postal service. Our list included consumers and their representatives, postal companies, trade unions, political parties, government departments, the devolved administrations and regulators. We are immensely grateful for the countless hours which so many have given to answering our questions and explaining their respective points of view. Their comments, evidence and ideas are the foundations of this report. Thanks go to the following organisations for their written submissions to the review: Age Concern, Amazon, Citipost, Commission for Equality and Human Rights, Communication Workers Union, Direct Marketing Association, DX Group, E.ON UK, Federation of Small Businesses, H Bauer Publishing, Haymarket Publishing, Home Delivery Network Ltd, HSBC, IMRG, Institute of Directors, IPC Media, Lloyds TSB, Lovefilm, Mail Competition Forum, Mail Order Traders Association, Mail Users Association, MBNA, Merrill Lynch, National Federation of SubPostmasters, Neopost, Nordic Enterprise Trust, People Post, Periodical Publishers Association, Pitney Bowes, Postcomm, Postwatch, Redwood Publishing, Reed Business Information, Royal Bank of Scotland, Royal Mail, Royal Mail Pension Trustees, Scottish National Party, The Economist, TNT Post, UK Mail, UNITE, UPS, Williams Lea. We are also grateful to those who submitted evidence in their capacity as constituency MPs or as individuals. We greatly appreciate the time which many individuals and organisations took to discuss their experiences and analysis of the UK postal service with the panel and to present their policy proposals. We benefited from numerous meetings with Allan Leighton, Margaret Prosser, Adam Crozier, Alan Cook, Mark Higson, Ian Duncan, Alex Smith, Sue Whalley, Mike Prince, Andy McPhie and their teams at Royal Mail; Billy Hayes, Dave Ward, Jeremy Baugh and members of the postal committee at the Communication Workers Union; Commissioners, Nigel Stapleton, Sarah Chambers, Tim Brown and their colleagues at Postcomm; Millie Banerjee, Howard Webber and Ian Leigh at Postwatch; David Currie, Ed Richards and Peter Culham at Ofcom; Guy Buswell and Ian Paterson, Business Post; Nick Wells and Angus Russell, TNT Post, UK; John Coghlan, James Greenbury and their colleagues at DX Mail; Paul Reuter and Brian Scott at UNITE; Jane Newell and Gerry Degaute, Royal Mail Pension Trustees; and Richard Bradley and Phil Burns at Frontier Economics. Particular thanks go to Professor Martin Cave, Director of the Centre for Management under Regulation at Warwick Business School, for his advice on regulatory issues; and to Adrian King at Strategia for his international comparisons. We learned a great deal from visiting postal companies in the UK and overseas and are grateful for the time taken by people in all parts of the postal service to talk so openly about their work. Thanks go to the staff at the Royal Mail Centre at Greenford, the Princess Royal Distribution Centre, Northolt Delivery Office and East Finchley Delivery Office; to Harry Koorstra and his team at TNT Post, Amsterdam; John-Paul Forceville and his colleagues at La Poste, Paris; to John Allen, Chief Finance Officer, and his team at Deutsche Post, Bonn; Johnny Thijs, Chief Executive, De Post – La Poste, Brussels; Helge Israelsen, Chief Executive, Post Danmark, Copenhagen; Mary-Ann Gibbons at United States Postal Service in Washington DC; and to Dan G Blair, Chairman of the US Postal Regulatory Commission. 4 4 Many thanks also go to: Alan Alexander, Postwatch Scotland; Eric Austin, Onepost; David Barton, Royal Bank of Scotland; Simon Campbell, Via Post; Bill Cockburn; Graham Corbett; Mike Critelli and Tim Walsh, Pitney Bowes; Peter Davies, Lansdowne Partners; Lord Dearing; Steve Gill, Hewlett Packard; Richard Gillingwater, Cass Business School; Alan Halfacre, Mail Users Association; Paul Hatch, IPC Media; Professor Dieter Helm, New College, Oxford; Philip Hemard, Amazon; Chris Hemmings, Price Waterhouse Coopers; John Hughes, Regional Mail Services; James Kelly, Direct Marketing Association; Nicola King, Rothschild; Robert Langton; Ian Locks and Pru Jones, Periodical Publishers Association; Peter Luff MP (BERR Select Committee, House of Commons); Adam Mantzos, Brockley Consulting; Sir Callum McCarthy, Financial Services Authority; Ken McFarlane, Deloitte; Stuart McKinnon and Clive Davenport, Federation of Small Businesses; George Osborne MP, Alan Duncan MP and John Whittingdale MP, Conservative Party; Jana Osbourn, Women’s Institute; Jonathan Powell and his team, Morgan Stanley; Charles Reed, Reed Associates; David Sibbick, Mail Competition Forum; Neil Simpson, Publicis; Douglas Sinclair, Scottish Consumer Council; Mark Sitiver, DHL Global; Martin Stanley; Tim Stone, KPMG; Ben Story and Charlie Foreman, Deutsche Bank; Sarah Teather MP and John Thurso MP, Liberal Democrats; George Thomson, National Federation of SubPostmasters; Elmar Toime; Søren Vestergaard-Poulsen, CVC; Mike Weir MP, Scottish National Party; Lord Whitty, Ed Mayo and Roger Darlington, Consumer Focus; Bob Wigley and Justin Anstee, Merrill Lynch; and John Yorkston of Legal Post. Finally, and not least, a number of Government Departments and public bodies supported the review with resources, evidence, ideas and expertise. We are grateful to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, HM Treasury, the Shareholder Executive, The Prime Minister’s Office, the Scotland Office, the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government. 5 5 Headlines 1. This review was established to maintain the universal postal service. The size and scope of the Post Office network – the country’s largest retail and financial chain – are largely outside its scope. 2. The universal postal service is important. The ability to deliver items to all 28 million business and
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Gigabit-Broadband in the UK: Government Targets and Policy
    BRIEFING PAPER Number CBP 8392, 30 April 2021 Gigabit-broadband in the By Georgina Hutton UK: Government targets and policy Contents: 1. Gigabit-capable broadband: what and why? 2. Gigabit-capable broadband in the UK 3. Government targets 4. Government policy: promoting a competitive market 5. Policy reforms to help build gigabit infrastructure Glossary www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | [email protected] | @commonslibrary 2 Gigabit-broadband in the UK: Government targets and policy Contents Summary 3 1. Gigabit-capable broadband: what and why? 5 1.1 Background: superfast broadband 5 1.2 Do we need a digital infrastructure upgrade? 5 1.3 What is gigabit-capable broadband? 7 1.4 Is telecommunications a reserved power? 8 2. Gigabit-capable broadband in the UK 9 International comparisons 11 3. Government targets 12 3.1 May Government target (2018) 12 3.2 Johnson Government 12 4. Government policy: promoting a competitive market 16 4.1 Government policy approach 16 4.2 How much will a nationwide gigabit-capable network cost? 17 4.3 What can a competitive market deliver? 17 4.4 Where are commercial providers building networks? 18 5. Policy reforms to help build gigabit infrastructure 20 5.1 “Barrier Busting Task Force” 20 5.2 Fibre broadband to new builds 22 5.3 Tax relief 24 5.4 Ofcom’s work in promoting gigabit-broadband 25 5.5 Consumer take-up 27 5.6 Retiring the copper network 28 Glossary 31 ` Contributing Authors: Carl Baker, Section 2, Broadband coverage statistics Cover page image copyright: Blue Fiber by Michael Wyszomierski.
    [Show full text]
  • Comment Operators at Crossroads: Market Protection Or Innovation?
    Comment Operators at crossroads: Market protection or innovation? Arnd Webera*, Daniel Scukab Published in: Telecommunications Policy, Volume 40, Issue 4, April 2016, Pages 368–377, doi:10.1016/j.telpol.2015.11.009. Permission to publish an authors’ version has kindly been granted by Elsevier B.V. a KIT (ITAS), Kaiserstraße 12, 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany b Mobikyo K.K., Level 32, Shinjuku Nomura Building, 1‐26‐2 Nishi‐Shinjuku, Shinjuku‐ku, Tokyo 163‐0532, Japan Abstract Many today believe that the mobile Internet was invented by Apple in the USA with their iPhone, enabling a data‐driven Internet ecosystem to disrupt the staid voice and SMS busi‐ ness models of the telecom carriers. History, however, shows that the mobile Internet was first successfully commercialised in Japan, in 1999. Some authors such as Richard Feasey in Telecommunications Policy (Issue 6, 2015) argue that operators had been confused and un‐ prepared when the Internet emerged and introduced “walled gardens”, without Internet access. This comment article reviews in detail how the operators reacted when the fixed, and later the mobile Internet spread; some introduced walled gardens, some opened it for the “unofficial” content on the Internet. The article concludes that most large European tel‐ ecom and information technology companies and their investors have a tradition of risk avoidance and pursued high‐price strategies that led them to regularly fail against better and cheaper foreign products and services, not only when the wireless Internet was introduced, but also when PCs and the fixed Internet were introduced. Consequences, such as the need to enable future disruptions and boost the skills needed to master them, are presented.
    [Show full text]
  • Engaging Member Countries Involved in the Global Inventory
    Introduction December 2009 Dear Journalist, The following press kit is designed to help you better understand the global postal sector, its major players and its environmental activities. The sector is a major industry, employing more than 5 million people and operating thousands of buildings and vehicles around the world. The UPU has recently announced the results of its first global inventory of greenhouse gas emissions produced by postal vehicles and buildings and is committed to helping the postal sector become greener. The inventory is a major step forward. Details are available in the press release included in this guide. The guide is broken down in several sections: • Introduction • Overview • UPU press release on global inventory • Questions and answers • Milestones • Best practices • Raising awareness through philately • Turning a shade of green, cover story from the December 2009 issue of Union Postale, the UPU’s flagship magazine • Media contacts • Where to find photos about the postal sector We hope this guide is helpful as you cover worldwide initiatives to curb the impact of climate change and the negotiations during the United Nations Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen. If you have any questions regarding the global postal sector, please don’t hesitate to contact me or, for information about the European postal sector, my colleague Cynthia Wee at PostEurop. We are both listed in “Contacts” at the end of this guide. Regards, Rhéal LeBlanc Communications Programme Manager Overview The global postal sector The global postal network is the world’s largest physical distribution network. Every day, Posts deliver billions of pieces of mail processed in thousands of post offices using as many vehicles, motorcycles, airplanes, boats and trains.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019-20
    Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019-20 and Financial Statements Annual Report ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2019-20 Royal Mail plc 1 Annual Report and Financial Statements 2019–20 CONTENTS Strategic Report Financial Statements Report Strategic 02 Overview 159 Independent auditor’s report 04 Who we are 166 Consolidated income statement 06 Financial and operational highlights 2019-20 167 Consolidated statement 15 Interim Executive Chair’s statement of comprehensive income 18 Delivering throughout the COVID-19 pandemic 168 Consolidated balance sheet 19 Business review 2019-20 170 Consolidated statement of changes in equity Corporate Governance Corporate 26 Market overview 171 Consolidated statement of cash flows 28 Business model 173 Notes to the consolidated financial statements 30 Measuring our performance 233 Significant accounting policies 32 Financial review 247 Royal Mail plc – Parent Company financial statements 62 Principal risks and uncertainties 73 Viability statement Shareholder Information Financial Statements 74 Corporate responsibility 250 Group five year summary (unaudited) 86 Non-financial information statement 252 Shareholder information 253 Forward-looking statements Corporate Governance 88 Chair’s introduction 90 Group Board of Directors 92 Executive Board – Royal Mail Information Shareholder 94 Governance structure 96 Board in action 100 Board composition and diversity 101 Reporting against the 2018 Corporate Governance Code 102 Board induction programme 103 Annual evaluation of Board performance and effectiveness 104 Engaging with our stakeholders 110 The Board’s considerations to our stakeholders during the COVID-19 pandemic 112 Employee engagement 114 Nomination Committee 117 Audit and Risk Committee 126 Corporate Responsibility Committee 128 Directors’ Remuneration Report 154 Directors’ Report 157 Statement of Directors’ Responsibilities 2 Strategic Report OVERVIEW ROYAL MAIL (UKPIL) Our UK business has faced significant challenges for some years.
    [Show full text]
  • Proposal to Put Prestel Viewdata System Into Every British Home Racing for the Cosmic Flash
    _4l_O _______________________ NEWS------------N_A_T_U_R_E_V_O_L_.3_3_0_3_D_E_C_E_M_B_E_R_1_98_7 Proposal to put Prestel viewdata Racing for the system into every British home cosmic flash London to supply continuously updated informa­ Sydney BRITISH Telecom has decided to embark tion on ferry availability. Indeed, by 1981, AsTRONOMERS in Australia and New on an ambitious scheme to put its pioneer­ British Telecom had changed its market­ Zealand are rushing to complete gamma­ ing viewdata system Prestel into every ing strategy to aim at the business world ray telescopes in time to catch the ex­ telephone subscriber's household. At rather than householders. Now, of Prestel's pected arrival of gamma rays from the present. only 24,000 British households 78,000 terminals, 69 per cent are in the February supernova in the Large Magel­ have Prestel terminals, out of 18 million workplace and 31 per cent in the home. lanic Cloud. domestic telephone subscribers. It is The lack of interest of domestic users is Two new instruments are under con­ understood that British Telecom will in generally blamed on poor marketing and struction; one in the Australian desert at the first instance set up a trial, with sub­ the cost of hardware. At present, the least Woomera and the other 1,650 m up a scribers in one London telephone district expensive means of using Prestel is to buy mountain near Blenheim on New Zea­ and one district outside London being an adaptor priced at around £100 for an land's South Island. supplied with Prestel terminals for a existing television set. Although Prestel's Visually, the supernova has long passed fixed time.
    [Show full text]
  • Postal Services: a Consumer Perspective Qualitative Research with Residential Consumers and Small Business Owners October 2012
    Postal Services: a consumer perspective Qualitative research with residential consumers and small business owners October 2012 Acknowledgements Thanks to the members of the general public who participated in our discussion groups to all the project team at Ofcom and everyone at Ipsos MORI who helped with recruitment, fieldwork and analysis of findings. © 2012 Ipsos MORI – all rights reserved. Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................. 1 1.1 Background ..................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research objectives ........................................................................ 1 1.3 Key areas covered by the research ................................................. 1 1.4 Methodology and participants .......................................................... 2 1.5 Analysis and reporting ..................................................................... 3 2. Key findings ............................................................................ 6 3. Background to consumer usage............................................... 9 3.1 Perceptions and attitudes towards post ........................................... 9 3.2 Usage and relationships with post ................................................. 10 4. Awareness and experience of services .................................. 14 4.1 Different types of awareness and interest in services ...................... 14 4.2 Expectations and confusion around key services ...........................
    [Show full text]
  • News Release ROYAL MAIL STATEMENT
    News Release 20 September2013 For immediate release ROYAL MAIL STATEMENT • Royal Mail is very disappointed that the CWU has confirmed that it is holding a national industrial action ballot of its members • An Ipsos MORI poll, commissioned by Royal Mail, reveals that 72% of British adults believe the CWU should accept Royal Mail’s pay offer and call off the plans to strike. In addition, 78% felt that the Royal Mail’s pay offer of 8.6% over three years was “very fair”or“fair”. • A ballot for industrial action does not mean there will be a strike; currently it is business as usual for Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide. • Any industrial action has a direct bearing on Royal Mail’s ability to sustain good quality, long-term employment for our people • Any industrial action, or the possibility of disruption, is damaging to our customers, and our business, especially in the run up to Christmas, our busiest time • Royal Mail is still talking with the CWU to reach a new agreement and calls on the CWU to focus on these talks rather than preparing for industrial action. We wish to reach agreement as soon as possible to provide continued stability for our employees, our business and our customers • Since 2011 Royal Mail has been talking with the CWU to reach a new agreement following the three-year Business Transformation and Beyond 2010 agreement. That awarded a pay increase of 6.9% over three years, at a time when RPI was 4.1% and, public sector employees had a two-year pay freeze • Royal Mail believes its offer to its postmen and women is very fair: Pay An 8.6% increase in pay , allowance and overtime payments over three years Protections We have offered a legally-binding and enforceable contract with the CWU.
    [Show full text]
  • Royal Mail Invoice Query
    Royal Mail Invoice Query Wrought-up and dermatographic Frederich unnaturalizing her Herschel unfeudalized while Adolf spring-clean some recantation famously. Elysian and cyclostome Dom circumnutate twitteringly and hoping his thegn unlimitedly and excitingly. Myeloid and meteorological Ossie always borders Mondays and dispreading his plentitude. Dsg retail limited will not agree not returnable or royal mail to provide better communications data from what is Want to royal mail invoices for mailing preference in this. You will mention to ban and kin on the cleanse that matches your query are being able to see our contact form. Once it will not be invoiced based. Redirect the user when we detect a suggestion selection. An Event Outside Our Control means any act, event, omission or accident beyond our reasonable control. You will be able to access most areas of Moonpig without registering your details with us. Delay if you continue receiving all over for royal mail invoice query multiple shipping at dubai airport and want, cut and vat if your invoce for? Using a broker for handling customs clearance. Include as much detail as possible, including the customs charge label, declaration and part of the wrapper with your address. Nice one click on its customers after setting that all orders reached you have used from or tray card, achieve what do? There from more search options available facility in Shipments Processing Screen. If royal mail. Voucher that apply postage and invoice. State your broader objectives along with the type and level of matching to be used. English courts in relation to disputes arising in connection with these specify, the Services and any order food or mayor of a product.
    [Show full text]
  • Business Accounts Accounts
    GUIDE TO SERVICES 2017 Business Business Accounts Accounts tab 5 www.guernseypost.com GPL Business Account Services Opening a credit account ............................................................................................ 58 Business postal rates ............................................................................................ 59 Special Delivery for businesses ............................................................................................ 64 PO Box for business ............................................................................................ 65 Timed collection/delivery ............................................................................................ 66 Mail Room Franking ............................................................................................ 66 Postage paid impressions (PPI) ............................................................................................ 67 Ebilling ............................................................................................ 67 Freepost ............................................................................................ 68 Business Reply Service ............................................................................................ 68 International Business Reply Service ............................................................................................ 69 Bulk Mail Services ............................................................................................ 69 Contact us: Customer
    [Show full text]
  • User Guide V16
    User Guide V16 Condition 9 Access Services for Inward Mail Centres 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS DOCUMENT HISTORY ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5 TABLE OF FIGURES --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 1. OVERVIEW OF CONDITION 9 ACCESS SERVICES ------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 1.1 SERVICE STANDARD ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 1.2 ACCESS SERVICE SUMMARY ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14 1.3 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1615 2. ENTRY QUALIFICATIONS ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1716 2.1 MINIMUM ENTRY REQUIREMENTS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1716 2.2 POSTCODE AREA COVERAGE --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1716 2.3 ADDRESSING STANDARDS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1716 3. INDICIA FOR ACCESS --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1918 3.1 INDICIA FOR ACCESS -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    [Show full text]
  • POSTAL SERVICES COMMISSION Annual Report 2007/08 HC
    ANNUAL REPORT 2007/08 ABOUT POSTCOMM Postcomm – the Postal Services Commission – is an independent regulator. Our job is to ensure the provision of a universal postal service and to further the interests of postal users in the UK by introducing choice through competition. We were set up by the Postal Services Act 2000 and are classified as a non-ministerial Government department. Our policies are steered by a board of independent Commissioners, headed by our chairman, Nigel Stapleton. Between them they have considerable experience of competition, business, consumer issues, regional matters, UK and overseas mail operations, trade unions, Government and regulation. Postcomm’s vision is a range of reliable, innovative and efficient postal services, including a universal postal service, that is valued by customers and delivered through a competitive postal market. Postcomm has required Royal Mail to continue to provide a universal postal service, has introduced competition and licensed a number of companies to compete with Royal Mail. Because Royal Mail still has a hugely dominant position in the letter post market, we also regulate some of the prices that it can charge and its quality of service. Postcomm is also charged with monitoring and giving advice to Government on the post office network. It does this by making annual reports to the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). POSTAL SERVICES COMMISSION Annual Report 2007/08 To: Rt Hon John Hutton MP, Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform I enclose the Commission’s report for the 12 months ending 31 March 2008 as required by Section 45 of the Postal Services Act 2000.
    [Show full text]
  • Annual Monitoring Update on the Postal Market
    Annual monitoring update on the postal market Financial year 2016-17 Market update Publication Date: 23 November 2017 About this document This report sets out the key data and trends in the postal sector for the 2016-17 financial year. The regulatory framework Ofcom put in place in March 2012, and reviewed in March 2017, fulfils our statutory duty of securing a universal postal service, having regard to financial sustainability and efficiency. An effective and on-going monitoring regime remains one of the key safeguards of the regulatory framework, alongside greater pricing freedom for Royal Mail. This document, together with an expanded range of interactive data, constitute our sixth annual monitoring update on the postal sector. This report covers six key areas: Royal Mail’s regulatory compliance; consumer and small business experience of postal services; the letters market; the parcels market; and the financial performance and efficiency of Royal Mail’s Reported Business. The Reported Business is the part of Royal Mail’s business responsible for the universal service, which requires Royal Mail to collect and deliver letters and parcels a minimum number of days a week, at an affordable and uniform price to all UK addresses. Contents Section 1. Executive Summary 1 2. Introduction 7 3. Regulatory compliance 11 4. Consumer and business experience of postal services 22 5. The letters market 31 6. The parcels market 38 7. The financial performance of the Reported Business 54 8. Efficiency of the Reported Business 67 Annex A1. Current information collected as part of the monitoring programme 74 Annual monitoring update on the postal market 1.
    [Show full text]