Postcomm invites postal comments in Yorkshire, Wales and Kent
11 February 2003
Concerned about postage stamp prices, delays in the mail, or the plight of urban and rural Post Offices? People who want to discuss these and other postal concerns are invited to public meetings in Leeds, Maidstone and Llandudno, hosted by Postcomm, the government regulator responsible for postal services.
Postcomm sets the prices that Royal Mail can charge for letter post and determines its service quality targets. It is also responsible for the recent introduction of competition into business postal services and for advice to the government on the future of the Post Office network.
The meetings, all timed to start at 7pm, will be at the following venues:
Leeds, 25 February: The Blue Room, 42 The Calls, Leeds.
Maidstone, 4 March: Stone Court Hotel, 28 Lower Stone Street, Maidstone.
Llandudno, 25 March: The Imperial Hotel, The Promenade, Llandudno.
Entrance is free, and each meeting will be led by one of Postcomm’s commissioners.
Martin Stanley, chief executive of Postcomm said:
“Big changes are happening in postal services throughout the UK, and Postcomm is keen to hear local opinion. These will be the first public meetings since we announced our final proposals to raise the price of first and second-class stamps by 1p and tighten up Royal Mail’s service standards. I hope as many people as possible will come along and tell us what they think.”
Notes for editors
The first phase of competition in postal services, for bulk mail business services, began on 1 January. It opened up around 30% of the UK letter market by value to competitors of Royal Mail. By 2007 all restrictions on market entry will be removed.
Media correspondents are welcome to cover the meetings.
