Postal Services Bill [AS AMENDED IN PUBLIC BILL COMMITTEE] CONTENTS PART 1 RESTRUCTURING OF ROYAL MAIL GROUP Removal of existing statutory restrictions on ownership 1 Removal of restrictions on ownership of Royal Mail Holdings plc etc Ownership of the Royal Mail 2 Report on decision to dispose of shares in a Royal Mail company etc 3 Employee share scheme Ownership of the Post Office 4 Restrictions on issue and transfer of shares and share rights in a Post Office company etc 5 Report on transfer of interest in a Post Office company to a relevant mutual 6 Meaning of “Post Office company” 7 Meaning of “relevant mutual” Transfer of property etc 8 Transfer schemes 9 Transfer of employees otherwise than under transfer scheme 10 Taxation provisions relating to re-structuring Supplementary provisions 11 Annual report on post office network 12 Directions Interpretation 13 Ownership of companies 14 Part 1: general interpretation Bill 120 55/1 ii Postal Services Bill PART 2 ROYAL MAIL PENSION PLAN Introduction 15 Introduction Powers exercisable 16 Transfer of qualifying accrued rights to new public scheme 17 Division of the RMPP into different sections 18 Amendments of the RMPP 19 Protection against adverse treatment 20 Transfer of assets of the RMPP 21 Restriction on power to transfer assets Supplementary provisions 22 Taxation 23 Information 24 Orders and regulations 25 Interpretation of Part 2 PART 3 REGULATION OF POSTAL SERVICES Postal services 26 Postal services, postal packets and postal operators 27 General authorisation to provide postal services The universal postal service 28 Duty to secure provision of universal postal service 29 The universal postal service 30 Minimum requirements 31 Section 30: definitions 32 Exceptions to minimum requirements 33 Review of minimum requirements Universal service providers 34 Designation of universal service providers 35 Designated USP conditions 36 Publication of information about performance 37 USP access conditions 38 USP accounting conditions Persons providing services within scope of universal postal service 39 Services within scope of the universal postal service 40 General universal service conditions Postal Services Bill iii 41 Recovery of administrative charges incurred by OFCOM Financial support for universal postal service 42 Review of costs of universal service obligations 43 Fairness of bearing burden of universal service obligations 44 Contributions for meeting burden 45 Report on sharing mechanism Postal operators generally 46 Notification by postal operators 47 Essential conditions 48 General access conditions 49 Consumer protection conditions 50 Provision that may be made by consumer protection conditions General provisions 51 Imposition, modification or revocation of regulatory conditions 52 Enforcement of regulatory requirements 53 Information 54 General restriction on disclosure of information Appeals 55 Decisions by OFCOM to impose regulatory conditions, penalties etc 56 Appeals from the CAT 57 Price control decisions 58 Section 57: supplementary Supplementary and consequential provisions 59 Duties in relation to social and environmental matters 60 UK postage stamps bearing image of Her Majesty 61 Orders, schemes and regulations made by OFCOM 62 Abolition of Postal Services Commission etc 63 Interpretation of Part 3 etc 64 Transitional provisions for Part 3 65 Review of Part 3 PART 4 SPECIAL ADMINISTRATION REGIME Postal administration orders 66 Postal administration orders 67 Objective of a postal administration 68 Applications for postal administration orders 69 Powers of court 70 Postal administrators 71 Conduct of administration, transfer schemes etc iv Postal Services Bill Restrictions on other insolvency procedures 72 Winding-up orders 73 Voluntary winding up 74 Making of ordinary administration orders 75 Administrator appointments by creditors etc 76 Enforcement of security Financial support for companies in administration 77 Grants and loans 78 Indemnities 79 Guarantees where postal administration order is made Modifications of regulatory conditions etc 80 Regulatory powers exercisable during postal administration 81 Regulatory conditions to secure funding of postal administration order Supplementary provisions 82 Modification of Part 4 under Enterprise Act 2002 83 Interpretation of Part 4 84 Partnerships 85 Northern Ireland 86 Review of Part 4 PART 5 GENERAL 87 Orders and regulations made by Ministers of Crown 88 Minor definitions 89 Minor and consequential amendments 90 Financial provisions 91 Short title, commencement and extent Schedule 1 — Transfer schemes Schedule 2 — Taxation provisions relating to re-structuring etc Schedule 3 — Further provision about access conditions Part 1 — Provision that may be made by access conditions Part 2 — Resolution of access disputes by OFCOM Schedule 4 — Recovery of administrative charges incurred by OFCOM Schedule 5 — Approval of redress schemes Schedule 6 — Imposition, modification or revocation of regulatory conditions Schedule 7 — Enforcement of regulatory requirements Schedule 8 — Information provisions Part 1 — Requirements to provide information to OFCOM Part 2 — Enforcement Part 3 — Supplementary provisions Postal Services Bill v Schedule 9 — Transitional provisions for Part 3 Schedule 10 — Conduct of postal administration Part 1 — Modifications of Schedule B1 to 1986 Act Part 2— Further modifications of Schedule B1 to 1986 Act: foreign companies Part 3 — Other modifications Schedule 11 — Postal transfer schemes Schedule 12 — Minor and consequential amendments Part 1 — Postal Services Act 2000 Part 2 — Communications Act 2003 Part 3 — Other enactments Postal Services Bill 1 Part 1 — Restructuring of Royal Mail group A BILL [AS AMENDED IN PUBLIC BILL COMMITTEE] TO Make provision for the restructuring of the Royal Mail group and about the Royal Mail Pension Plan; to make new provision about the regulation of postal services, including provision for a special administration regime; and for connected purposes. E IT ENACTED by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present BParliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:— PART 1 RESTRUCTURING OF ROYAL MAIL GROUP Removal of existing statutory restrictions on ownership 1 Removal of restrictions on ownership of Royal Mail Holdings plc etc (1) Sections 65 to 67 of the Postal Services Act 2000 (which contain restrictions on 5 the issue and transfer of shares and share rights in Royal Mail Holdings plc and its relevant subsidiaries) are repealed. (2) But see section 4 of this Act (which imposes restrictions on the issue and transfer of shares and share rights in a Post Office company etc). Ownership of the Royal Mail 10 2 Report on decision to dispose of shares in a Royal Mail company etc (1) This section applies where the Secretary of State— (a) has decided to undertake a particular kind of relevant disposal, or (b) has decided that another person may undertake a particular kind of relevant disposal. 15 Bill 120 55/1 2 Postal Services Bill Part 1 — Restructuring of Royal Mail group (2) As soon as reasonably practicable after making the decision, the Secretary of State must lay before Parliament a report on the proposed disposal. (3) The report must state— (a) the kind of relevant disposal intended to be undertaken, and (b) the expected time-scale for undertaking it. 5 (4) In this Part “relevant disposal” means— (a) the issue or transfer of shares in a company the effect of which is to reduce the proportion of a Royal Mail company owned by the Crown, or (b) the issue or transfer of share rights to a person the effect of which would 10 be, if the shares to which the share rights relate were issued or transferred to the person, to reduce the proportion of a Royal Mail company owned by the Crown. (5) In this Part “Royal Mail company” means a company that— (a) provides a universal postal service, and 15 (b) is or has at any time been in the same group as— (i) the original holding company, or (ii) another company that is or has at any time been a Royal Mail company. 3 Employee share scheme 20 (1) The Secretary of State must ensure that arrangements are made, before the time at which the first relevant disposal is made in relation to a Royal Mail company, for the establishment of an employee share scheme. (2) Those arrangements must secure that if at any time the proportion of the company owned by the Crown is reduced to nil, the proportion of the company 25 owned by or on behalf of the employee share scheme is at that time (or has before that time been) at least 10%. (3) If any shares or shares rights have been transferred under the employee share scheme to beneficiaries of the scheme, the shares or share rights are to be regarded for the purposes of subsection (2) as if they are still owned by or on 30 behalf of the scheme. (4) “Employee share scheme” means a scheme for encouraging or facilitating the holding of shares or share rights in the company (or companies in the same group as the company) by or for the benefit of persons who are or include employees of the company. 35 Ownership of the Post Office 4 Restrictions on issue and transfer of shares and share rights in a Post Office company etc (1) No disposal of the Crown’s interest in a Post Office company may be made other than a disposal that— 40 (a) is made pursuant to a direction under subsection (2), or (b) is authorised under subsection (3). (2) The Secretary of State may— Postal Services Bill 3 Part 1 — Restructuring of Royal Mail group (a) direct a Post Office company (if it is wholly owned by the Crown) to issue shares or share rights to a relevant mutual, or (b) direct a company wholly owned by the Crown to transfer shares or share rights in a Post Office company to a relevant mutual. (3) A disposal of the Crown’s interest in a Post Office company is authorised 5 under this subsection if— (a) the disposal is by way of an issue or transfer of shares or share rights in a Post Office company to a relevant mutual, and (b) the Secretary of State has approved the issue or transfer.