Postcomm spells out universal postal service
8 June 2004
Postcomm today defined five areas of service, currently provided by Royal Mail, which the company needs to provide as the universal postal service. This means these services must be provided at an affordable flat rate price.
Nigel Stapleton, chairman of Postcomm said:
“This is another important step towards opening up the postal market to competition and ensuring customers get the products they want.
“This decision follows a year-long review of the universal postal service when users were asked, for the first time, what they wanted from the universal service. Until now it was assumed that the universal service applied to everything that Royal Mail did. Postcomm’s decision means that the legal definition of the universal service is now clearly translated into the postal services that customers want.”
In future the universal service will be made up of the following five postal services:
- Priority and non-priority mail services (letters and packets) up to 2 kilos – Royal Mail’s 1st and 2nd class mail services and bulk mail services
- A non-priority parcels service up to 20 kilos – Royal Mail’s standard parcel service
- A registered and insured service – Royal Mail’s Special Delivery (next day) and Recorded (signed-for) products
- A range of support services to ensure the security and integrity of mail– Royal Mail’s Re-direction (up to 12 months), Keepsafe, Post Restante, Certificate of posting and Business collections
- International outbound service – Royal Mail’s International public tariff and International Signed-for products. The UK is also subject to the requirements of the Universal Postal Union in respect of providing a service for delivery of international inbound mail.
Postcomm will continue to monitor and review the universal service taking account of the changing needs of users and the types of services offered by the market. In September, as part of a competitive market review, a decision will be made on which of Royal Mail’s bulk mail and access products have to be provided on universal service terms.
Notes for editors
In practice, users are unlikely to see much change immediately. This is because even if a service ceases to be a universal service Royal Mail, as the dominant operator, is still required to provide it and to control its price and service quality under the conditions of its licence. But over a longer period, provisions in Royal Mail’s licence will enable Postcomm to manage the transition to a competitive market and allow Royal Mail some flexibility as competition develops.
Postcomm launched a review of the universal postal service in April 2003 when it asked users for the first time to say what they wanted from the universal service.
The key changes to how the universal service is currently perceived are as follows:
A weight limit of 2 kilos for priority and non-priority mail services. At present there is a 750 gram limit for 2nd class post which Royal Mail must now raise to 2 kilos. 1st class post has no weight limit at present. 1st class post will remain a universal service up to 2 kilos, but Royal Mail will still be required to continue to provide the service above 2 kilos, but outside the universal service .
Bulk mail services. Postcomm has decided that the universal service should include a bulk mail service. In September Postcomm will decide which of Royal Mail’s bulk mail products best meets this requirement. In the meantime all of Royal Mail’s bulk mail products will continue to be provided on a universal service basis.
Excluded from the universal service will be an economy mail service (Royal Mail’s Mailsort 3), and a specialised newspaper service (Presstream). In principle, this means that Mailsort 3 could be priced on a non-geographic basis. Presstream is already priced on this basis.
The decision document, The UK’s universal postal service, is published today and is available shortly from Postcomm at 6 Hercules Road, London, SE1 7DB.
