Royal Mail has been given the green light to drop Saturday deliveries of second-class letters and provide services only on alternating weekdays from Monday to Friday under new rules announced by the regulator.
Ofcom said that reforms of the Universal Services Obligation reflected changing behaviour of postal users, with fewer letters being sent across the country. The regulator said it could end up saving the postal delivery service between £250m and £425m each year.
First-class letters will still have to be delivered by the next working day, Monday to Saturday, anda cap will continue on the price of a second-class stamp. Ofcom have also tried to address concerns about long delays, setting new “backstop targets” that mean 99% of mail will have to be delivered no more than two days late.
The rules will come into force on 28 July.
It comes months after the Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský’s EP Group completed a £3.6bn takeover of International Distributions Services, the owner of Royal Mail.
Ofcom’s director for networks and communications, Natalie Black, said: “These changes are in the best interests of consumers and businesses, as urgent reform of the postal service is necessary to give it the best chance of survival.”
More details to follow …
