Change coming.

Anniversary card posted on the day that Royal Mail are in “the News.” Not because of the cost of my first class stamp (£1.25), but because there’s a Review being initiated. Ofcom has warned that the UK postal service risks becoming “unsustainable” without reform. Royal Mail, posted a £319 million loss for the latest half-year.

Potential changes under discussion include possible relaxation of the Royal Mail's Universal Service Obligation (USO); this presently requires deliveries six days a week to 32 million addresses across the whole UK, for the price of a stamp, no matter where the letters are going. An option for change tabled includes reducing the number of letter delivery days from six to five (apparently common in Europe) or even three. Ofcom suggest the company would be likely to achieve a saving of between £100 million and £200 million if letter deliveries were reduced to five days, 3 days £400 million. Another is to change existing schedules for First and Second Class and business products; most letters would take up to three days, or longer savings £150-£600 million! A survey has shown affordability and reliability of delivery of letters and parcels is important, age demographics matter too. Parcels are big part of the business nowadays also, they deliver where others often don’t.

The sticky marks on the screen were from the sign when the postbox was deemed a Priority Postbox during the pandemic.

My wife much better this evening. That’s good.