Postcomm’ s decision on opening up the UK letter market to competition comes into effect in three months time.

To begin with, competition will largely be restricted to bulk mail – things like telephone bills, bank statements and mailings from charities. Competition will also open the way for other organisations to deliver post. You may find your milkman delivering letters or the local bus company delivering parcels.

Royal Mail will still be responsible for providing a UK-wide universal service – deliveries and collections six days a week to every household and business, at the same price – so the traditional delivery service is here to stay.

There are just over 3000 addresses, many of them in Scotland, where mail is delivered for example to a roadside box or a neighbour’s house instead of to the front door, or is delivered less than six times a week. Postcomm has been consulting on a proposed framework for deciding exceptions to the universal service and the public meetings will give users in Scotland the chance to put their views direct to Postcomm.

As postal competition unfolds, there are many other issues that Postcomm has to consider. For example:

What do people want to see in terms of the universal service ?

What more needs to be done to help the network of post offices, particularly in rural areas?

Come along and have your say!
To reserve your place please RSVP to Joanna Caria,
Tel: 020 7593 2165,
Fax: 020 7593 2142
email: jcaria@psc.gov.uk.