Postcomm sets clearer rules for exceptions to the universal postal service
31 January 2003
Postcomm today announced new rules governing when Royal Mail does not have to make daily deliveries to particular addresses. These rules remove doubt about what delivery arrangements are required from Royal Mail, and what arrangements customers can expect.
Royal Mail has a legal obligation to provide a universal postal service of deliveries six days a week to every home or premises in the UK, subject only to exceptions determined by Postcomm. Such exceptions include addresses where access is via difficult or dangerous terrain (a health and safety exception) or on islands which do not have a daily ferry or air service (a difficulty of access exception).
Following a consultation started in July 2002, Postcomm has today announced its policy. The new policy will not increase the number of long term exceptions, which in the past have numbered between 3,000 and 4,000 addresses out of the 27 million in the UK.
Today’s proposals include:
- a more precise definition of remote addresses where Royal Mail will not be expected to deliver to the door every day
- the offer of alternative delivery arrangements enabling a universal service to be provided to approved alternative delivery points
- opportunities for customers to ask for a review and to appeal against Royal Mail’s decisions on exceptions.
Under the new exceptions policy, Postcomm has set a “fifteen minute rule” to define whether an address along a private access track in poor condition should receive daily postal deliveries right to the door. If it takes a postman more than 15 minutes for the round trip from the public road to reach the address, on foot or by vehicle, Royal Mail will not have to deliver to the premises but will agree an alternative delivery point with the residents – such as a roadside box.
Of course, if the track is in such poor condition that there is a health and safety risk to staff, alternative delivery arrangements will apply anyway. On good public or private roads, Postcomm has decided there should be no limit on the time taken to reach a remote address.
A key safeguard for customers is that whenever an address is excepted or temporarily suspended from the universal service, Royal Mail has to offer and agree alternative delivery arrangements, and inform the customer that the decision is subject to a review and appeal process at the customer’s request. Appeal is first to Royal Mail, then, if not agreed, to Postwatch and, if necessary, Postcomm.
Notes for editors
Postcomm’s exceptions policy is designed to ensure that the number of homes or premises excepted from delivery every working day is kept to a minimum. Royal Mail currently makes a daily delivery of mail to the door of all but a very small proportion (0.011% -- around 1 in 9,000) of the 27 million addresses in the UK. The new policy will not increase that proportion. Royal Mail estimates that there are currently just over 3,000 addresses not receiving the full universal service on a long term basis. Nearly 2,000 of these already receive a daily delivery at alternative delivery points. Most of the rest are on islands without a daily ferry or air service.
Royal Mail has a legal duty to protect the health and safety of its staff. Where this is at risk because, for example, access to premises is only possible across difficult terrain or over treacherous paths on mountainsides, the addresses concerned will be excepted from universal service delivery on health and safety grounds.
Long term exceptions will also apply to addresses on islands served by regular but not daily ferry or air services. In these instances, Royal Mail should provide deliveries on the days on which a ferry or air service is available. Fewer than 1100 addresses receive mail less than 6 days a week; three-quarters of these are on islands without a daily ferry service.
For the few islands and other locations only accessible by boat and without a ferry service, Royal Mail has to provide a postal delivery service not less than once a week by boat, using local agents, with mail available for picking up free of charge from the local delivery office on other days, for those customers who can reach it.
Customers will be able to request a temporary suspension of the universal service, for example if they only want delivery on particular days of the week.
The main modifications made to Postcomm’s July proposals as a result of responses received during the consultation process have been to clarify Postcomm’s intention that Royal Mail should continue to make use of scheduled air as well as ferry services to get mail to islands, and to make clear that customers subject to temporary suspension of deliveries to their address, as well as those at addresses categorised as long term exceptions, can ask for a review of the position.
Royal Mail Licence Condition 1 – Exceptions to the Universal Service Obligation – a Decision Document and Direction, and copies of the shorter policy statement on exceptions, are available from Postcomm at 6 Hercules Road, London, SE1 7DB.
