Royal Mail to scrap second-class post on Saturdays and some weekdays

Royal Mail is to beryllium allowed to scrap Saturday second-class stamp deliveries, nether a bid of reforms projected by the communications regulator.

From 28 July, Royal Mail volition besides beryllium allowed to present second-class letters connected alternate weekdays, Ofcom said.

The station volition inactive beryllium delivered wrong 3 moving days of postulation from Monday to Friday.

The proposals had already been raised by Ofcom aft a consultation was announced successful 2024, and the standard backmost was proposed aboriginal this year.

Royal Mail had repeatedly failed to conscionable the alleged cosmopolitan work work to present station wrong acceptable periods of time.

Those transportation targets are present being revised downwards.

Rather than having to person 93% of first-class message delivered the adjacent day, 90% volition beryllium legally allowed.

The people for second-class message deliveries volition beryllium lowered from 98.5% to get wrong 3 moving days to 95%.

It's bully quality for Royal Mail and its caller owner, the Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky. Ofcom estimates the changes volition bring savings of betwixt £250m and £425m.

Unsurprisingly, the institution welcomed the announcement.

"It is bully quality for customers crossed the UK arsenic it supports the transportation of a reliable, businesslike and financially sustainable cosmopolitan service," said Martin Seidenberg, the radical main enforcement of Royal Mail's genitor company, International Distribution Services.

"It follows extended consultation with thousands of radical and businesses to guarantee that the postal work amended reflects their needs and the realities of however customers nonstop and person message today."

Less than a 3rd of letters are sent present than 20 years ago, and is forecast to autumn to astir a 5th of the letters antecedently sent.

In effect to Ofcom's changes, a authorities spokesperson said: "The nationalist expects a well-run postal service, with letters arriving connected clip crossed the state without it costing the earth. With the mode radical usage postal services having changed, it's close the regulator has looked astatine this.

"We present request Royal Mail to enactment with unions and posties to present a work that radical expect, and this includes maintaining the rule of 1 terms to nonstop a missive anyplace successful the UK"

This breaking quality communicative is being updated and much details volition beryllium published shortly.

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