Consultation: Review of the universal postal service and other postal regulation

Following extensive engagement with stakeholders and consumer research, we are proposing a package of reforms to the Universal Service Obligation (USO) on Royal Mail and corresponding changes to Royal Mail’s obligation to provide access to its letter network.

Changes to the delivery frequency of Second Class letters

Currently the USO requires the delivery of First Class and Second Class letters six days a week (Monday to Saturday).

• We propose to remove the requirement on Royal Mail to deliver Second Class letters six days per week and allow it to deliver such letters on alternate weekdays (Monday to Friday). This change reflects the fact that postal users no longer need two six-day-per-week services to meet their needs and is intended to support the financial sustainability of the service.
• We will maintain the requirements for delivery of First Class letters, which will continue to be delivered next day, six days per week.
• We will maintain the current parcels USO specification.

Quality of service

Royal Mail is required to meet specific quality of service targets to incentivise it to deliver a high standard of service.

We propose to introduce new ‘tail of mail’ targets to reflect the fact that postal users increasingly value reliability over speed of delivery. For First Class mail, 99.5% would have to be delivered within three days of posting. For Second Class mail, 99.5% would have to be delivered within five days of posting.

We propose to change the headline target for First Class mail from 93% to 90% delivered next-day, and to change the headline target for Second Class mail from 98.5% to 95% delivered within three days, to better reflect people’s preferences and support financial sustainability. The proposed targets would remain high by international standards. We are also proposing to reset the related First Class postcode area target from 91.5% to 87% delivered next-day.

Access letters obligation

Most letters sent today are ‘bulk mail’ – the letters sent by large organisations such as banks, government departments, the NHS or local authorities. These letters are sent outside of the universal service. To support competition in this market, we require Royal Mail to provide access to its letters network, meaning it must deliver letters collected by other postal operators. To realise the benefits from any reform to the USO, changes are also needed to the access obligations on Royal Mail to ensure it can operate the same alternate weekday delivery model for the vast majority of mail. Our proposals aim to enable this while continuing to support a competitive bulk mail market that meets the needs of large organisations and their customers.

• Royal Mail is introducing a new access service to be delivered on alternate weekdays, which would aim to deliver letters within three weekdays (D+3) after collection from the sender. We propose to regulate this new service in the same way as we currently regulate existing access services.
• We will continue to regulate the existing D+2 access service for priority bulk mail, at least while the market responds to reform.
• We are also proposing to remove Saturday delivery from D+5 access services.

Responding to this consultation

Please submit responses using the response form no later than 5pm on 10 April 2025.