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The company Royal Mail may have the option to eliminate Saturday postal deliveries in efforts to save hundreds of millions of pounds, according to an upcoming review.
Next week, Ofcom, the governing body for communications in the UK, will release a report discussing potential changes for Royal Mail in order to better cater to consumer demands.
Ofcom stated that the decision between parliament and the company regarding the move could result in annual savings of £125m to £225m for the postal service.
A representative from Ofcom stated that they will be seeking opinions on this matter and not deliberating on particular suggestions. The decision on whether to make any adjustments to the minimum standards of the universal service would ultimately lie with the UK government and parliament.
After suffering a loss of £319m in the first half of the fiscal year, Royal Mail has proposed a decrease in postal deliveries to only five days per week, from Monday to Friday.
According to Ofcom, the change has the potential to reduce the postal service’s expenses by £125m to £225m annually.
The service attributed the increase in daily costs to the obligation of delivering letters six days a week, which led to higher stamp prices.
During the previous summer, the government was denied its proposal to discontinue Saturday postal deliveries, as this decision required approval from Members of Parliament.
Ofcom has announced a review, stating that recent years have highlighted the significance of postal services. However, there has been a shift in how individuals utilize these services and this trend is expected to persist.
The article stated that there has been a 46% decrease in the amount of letters being sent and received over the past ten years, as more individuals and companies switched to digital options. As a result of this decline, the cost of delivering letters has gone up.
Martin Seidenberg, the chief executive of Royal Mail’s owners, International Distribution Services, said in its trading statement this week: “With Ofcom due to publish options for the future of the universal service imminently, now is the time for urgent action.
“We are making every effort to change, but it is not feasible to continue operating a delivery system designed for 20 billion letters now that we are only delivering 7 billion.”
Source: independent.co.uk
