𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

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Andy Burnham has demanded an immediate improvement in Royal Mail’s performance, warning that the government will pursue “further measures”.

The prime minister declared that the postal service’s record had been “unacceptable for far too long” amid ongoing struggles to hit delivery targets for letters. Such delays in the service have resulted in documented instances of missed medical appointments.

This follows demands from the Communication Workers Union last week for an emergency summit on Royal Mail’s future.

The postal workers union warned the service was “on the brink of collapse”, while general secretary Dave Ward described the company as a “ticking timebomb”.

Mr Burnham was asked about the issue at Prime Minister’s Questions by Labour MP Imogen Walker (Hamilton and Clyde Valley), who said: “My constituents should be able to rely on deliveries from the Royal Mail. But post is being held up for weeks on end and it’s causing serious issues for far too many people.

“So will the Prime Minister join me in urging the senior leadership to do the right thing by my constituents and our postal workers, and put in place a system that works?”

Responding to Ms Walker, the prime minister said: “My honourable friend is right. Royal Mail’s service has been unacceptable for far too long. They have been asked in to see ministers on a regular basis. Ofcom is looking at the situation as well.

“Let’s be clear, they need to bring forward a plan to restore service standards to the level they need to be at. They need to do it quickly, or we will consider further measures.”

Royal Mail missed its delivery targets in August. The group said it delivered 85 per cent of first-class deliveries the next day and 91.4 per cent of second-class mail within three working days during the first quarter of the year.

Under targets set by Ofcom, 90 per cent of first-class mail should be delivered the next day, and 95 per cent of second-class mail should be delivered within three days.

Ofcom had lowered the targets in April, but Royal Mail has still not met them.

Royal Mail insisted it had seen a marked improvement from a year earlier, when first quarter figures showed just 76 per cent of first-class and 89.3 per cent of second-class post arrived on time.

It published an improvement plan in the spring which included a commitment to invest £500 million in quality of service over five years.

Earlier this month, Royal Mail said it would cut 2,500 head office jobs and other supporting roles, about 2 per cent of its overall workforce.

Frontline postal workers are not part of the proposed restructure, the group said.

A Royal Mail spokesperson said: “Our latest published figures show that quality of service is the best it has been for many years, with 85 per cent of First Class letters arriving on time, up from 76 per cent a year ago. Second Class performance has also improved, with 91.4 per cent of letters arriving on time, up from 89.3 per cent.

“We agree that customers should be able to rely on receiving their mail when expected. We know there is more to do and have a clear plan to deliver further improvements, including major changes to our delivery model and £500 million of investment over five years to improve reliability.”