Postwatch Annual Report

Postwatch's Annual Report for the period 2006/07 has now been published and you can read it here.

Postwatch Chair Millie Banerjee describes it as "a landmark year for the postal industry". She explains:

"August 2006 saw the introduction of
Pricing in Proportion (PiP), Royal Mail’s new
pricing structure. Postwatch played its part in
working to ensure customers understood the
implications of PiP. The benefits of our
regional structure were illustrated in the
workshops and seminars we ran throughout
the UK, which enabled customers to air
concerns and uncertainties. It’s a testament to
both Royal Mail’s hard work and our own that
PiP’s introduction has been relatively smooth.

Full liberalisation of the postal market is now
over one year old, and there are signs that
organisations are increasingly taking action to
ensure they get the most out of their post.
Twice as many businesses in 2006 switched
to one of Royal Mail’s top three competitors
compared to the previous year. At the same
time there are early trends that the mail market
may no longer be growing. If this continues we
would need to be mindful that a viable and
efficient Royal Mail is essential for the
sustainability of the universal postal service."