New postal licence framework

Postcomm, the regulator for postal services, today announced changes that will simplify procedures for licensing non-universal service operators. (The universal service is the geographically uniform postal service that is provided by Royal Mail.)

The changes described in today's document - Amendment of the 2006 licensing framework - include a reduction in application fees from £1000 to £50, which it is hoped will help encourage small businesses to enter the market, and the removal of the licence requirement on all licensees to have guarantees or contractual arrangements in place to ensure the delivery of mail if an operator fails so that, in future, other operators can respond directly to what the market demands, rather than to regulatory requirements.

EDM on postal services

An Early Day Motion (EDM) is a Parliamentary device to draw attention to a matter in the House of Commons. Labour MP for Luton North Kelvin Hopkins has just sponsored this EDM on postal services:

"That this House welcomes the commitment from the Labour Party in its General Election Manifesto 2005 that it will review the impact on the Royal Mail of market liberalisation, which is being progressively introduced under the Postal Services Act 2000 and which allows alternative carriers to the Royal Mail to offer postal services; notes that the manner in which competition has been introduced has resulted in Royal Mail losing 40 per cent. of its high revenue access products in three years and that this rate of losses will raise a question over the financing of the Universal Service Obligation by Royal Mail; further notes that there are options which the review can examine to support the Universal Delivery Service Obligation, such as a support fund or a supplement to the access price charged for competitors who currently receive the benefit of Royal Mail's Universal Service without paying for it; and calls upon the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry to ensure that the promised review is begun without delay."