Royal Mail sell of could end daily deliveries

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   Royal Mail sell-off could end daily deliveries
   

Privatising the Royal Mail could pave the way for relaxing the company’s legal obligation to provide daily deliveries at a flat price, sources have revealed.








A postman delivering mail Photo: GETTY





James Kirkup and Robert Winnett

10:30PM GMT 23 Dec 2012

138 Comments




Ministers discussing the sale of the Royal Mail are understood be considering whether the sale agreement for the company should make a clear legal provision for changes to the Universal Service Obligation (USO).


Under the USO, the company is legally required to deliver post to every address in the UK six days a week at "uniform and affordable prices".


The obligation is the basis of the Royal Mail’s cherished nationwide service, which means that the cost of posting a letter to any address in the UK is the same everywhere.


However, the requirement is extremely costly to fulfil, and some ministers believe that it will become untenable as the number of letters sent falls further.


Government sources say that the sale of the Royal Mail will have to address the prospect of future changes in the USO.



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Any move to relax the obligation would be highly controversial, especially in rural areas, and would lead to allegations of a two-tier postal service.

However, it would also cut Royal Mail’s costs and make the company more profitable.

One option under consideration in Whitehall is for the sale contract for Royal Mail to contain clauses that would claw back a share of any increased profits the privatised company would make after the USO was relaxed.

Ministers are discussing plans to sell of the Royal Mail as early as next year in what would be the biggest privatisation of a state asset since the 1990s. Options include selling shares to the public, or a private sale to an existing private-sector postal company.

The sale was discussed earlier this month at the Cabinet sub-committee on asset sales, where Conservative and Liberal Democrat ministers agreed that the company is making good progress towards a potential sale.

A source close to the committee told the Daily Telegraph that Conservative ministers are thinking about future changes to the USO.

Any change in the obligation must be approved by MPs, and a change is unlikely to be approved in this Parliament. But an all-Conservative government could seek to relax the USO, a source said.

“It may be that the USO has to go in the next Parliament,” a source said. “If and when what happens, you would want something in the sale terms to ensure that taxpayer doesn’t lose out on the gains for the investors.”

Sources said the Lib Dems would be “extremely hostile” to any signal that the USO could be watered down after privatisation. Making explicit legal provision for such a change would “completely undermine public confidence” in the Royal Mail and hurt the business, a source said.

Ofcom, which regulates the Royal Mail, this year launched a review of the universal postal service, which could lead to major changes next year.

The regulator found that the number of letters and parcels sent by residential consumers each week has more than halved since 2006, from 3.5 items on average to 1.5.

Please don't let the PO fall into private hands.!!!!!!! It was inevitable that the PO would suffer because of the internet , 123 Greetings and the like, but the Post Office is so versatile now, renew passports, take your photo, sell Currency, provide Internet and telephone services , friendly knowledgeable staff.

Increase the cost of postage if necessary, the public would not object if it meant keeping the PO in public ownership.

It wouldn't be half as bad it they did a good job.


Posting cards through your door and making you go to sorting office to pick up the parcel that you have paid to be delivered is just one gripe I have with them.

Post going missing.


Parcels going missing, you daren't order something before Xmas for fear off it going missing.

Next day delivery getting there three days later which you have paid for and when it gets to the destination it's damaged.

Spam getting delivered with your post which the post office get payed from companies to do so, some days all I get is rubbish spam and that's that, the postman doesn't get any extra for carrying the extra load and he also has to go to every single door to post this rubbish which he wouldn't have to do if it wasn't for their employers.

Well, I have to say, I don't have any trouble. Only last week a Card posted told me a Parcel could not be delivered. I phoned the sorting office which is not far away and got it re-delivered the next day.!!! It is not a big Post Office , can process Motor Licence applications and Passport Applications and renewals. sells Stationary, has a photo booth Chris,one of the Staff, does my minor clothes alterations, see why I don't want to change anything.