Bridgwater MP Sir Ashley Fox has called for urgent action to improve Royal Mail’s performance, warning that rural communities are being let down by unreliable deliveries and declining service standards.
Leading a Westminster Hall debate on the Royal Mail Universal Service Obligation, Ashley drew on examples from across his constituency to illustrate the scale of the problem.
“In my constituency, only one in three households told me that they receive a postal delivery every day in my survey,” he said. “Fifteen per cent said that they receive one once a week or less. In the village of Othery, some households went without deliveries for more than a fortnight. In Burnham-on-Sea, 48% of respondents gave Royal Mail 10 out of 10 for reliability of service, and 30% gave it zero out of 10.”
Ashley said the situation is unacceptable and that residents deserve a service they can rely on. “The postal service is a vital part of our communities,” he said. “Its future, and the changes to the universal service obligation, particularly affect my constituents.”
He also warned that lowering delivery standards or reducing the number of service days would hit rural areas hardest. “This is not just a few percentage points on a spreadsheet,” he said. “It is millions of people waiting longer for vital letters… and rural communities, such as those in Somerset, being pushed further to the margins.”
Ashley Fox will be meeting with the Director of External Affairs and Policy at Royal Mail to discuss the specific issues raised in his debate.
