Recommendation 8

Ofcom must deliver better regulation of the postal market. It should produce a clear roadmap for achieving this which sets out the statutory and non-statutory tools Ofcom currently has at its disposal, and how it intends to use these to bring about demonstrable improvements in public satisfaction with postal services. This must not be limited to services covered by the Universal Service Obligation, but also include Access mail and services delivered by Royal Mail’s competitors. Where Ofcom is of the view that it currently lacks the remit and/or powers to address particular issues in the postal sector, it should clearly set out these gaps to this Committee. This reset should include the ability to provide basic operational performance data to Parliament, including the specific number of letters and parcels delivered outside performance targets. It should also include a far more assertive approach to spot-checking whether and how often parcels are prioritised over letters. (Recommendation, Paragraph 21)