Critics accuse watchdog of 'surrendering' as Royal Mail allowed less Saturday deliveries

Ofcom person been slammed for rubber-stamping Royal Mail plans to ditch 2nd people missive Saturday deliveries - contempt station inactive a lifeline to immoderate communities.

The watchdog said a consultation recovered reducing the 2nd people missive work to alternate weekdays, portion keeping archetypal people deliveries six days a week, would inactive conscionable postal users’ needs.

The planned changes - redeeming Royal Mail up to £425m a twelvemonth - travel arsenic it's being sold to Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky for £3.6 billion, with the woody already rubber-stamped by the Government past year.

Ofcom stressed 2nd people letters would inactive beryllium delivered wrong 3 moving days of postulation - and the program aimed to "ensure the cosmopolitan work remains sustainable and delivers what radical need".

But it's sparked fury from consumers and age-support groups who pass the arguable determination could earnestly impact those who inactive trust connected station for connection from the extracurricular world, specified arsenic captious NHS appointments.

Dennis Reed, manager of elder citizens' run radical Silver Voices, slammed Ofcom and Labour for "surrendering" the nation's postal work - hastening the "eventual end" of household deliveries forever.

He told the Daily Express: "Ofcom and the Government are presiding implicit the dilatory decease of a captious portion of the UK's infrastructure.

"Instead of opposing Royal Mail's takeover by a overseas billionaire they are complicit successful its dilatory demise, arsenic assets are stripped from the institution implicit clip and indebtedness loaded connected to it.

"Once again it volition beryllium older radical who endure astir from this argumentation arsenic the usage of the station for bills, NHS appointments and different authoritative correspondence becomes excessively costly and little reliable.

"This surrender by Ofcom volition hasten the downward spiral of the postal service; astronomical prices for stamps, starring to little letters, starring to the eventual extremity of household deliveries.

"It won't beryllium agelong earlier the NHS stops sending assignment letters by station and forces everyone to spell online oregon get lost."

Furious Royal Mail customers blasted the plans today, with 1 writing: "This strategy is already successful place! We are fortunate if we station erstwhile a week! Used to get it doubly a day."

Another raged: "The work is being deliberately tally down. The fines from Ofcom are pointless, prices support going up, work keeps getting worse."

While a 3rd asked: "How did the Victorians negociate 12 deliveries a time and yet a modern Royal Mail won’t adjacent beryllium capable to negociate one?"

Meanwhile Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director astatine Age UK, told us: "For galore older people, these latest announcements astir the scaling backmost of 2nd people deliveries volition astir apt beryllium viewed arsenic conscionable different staging station successful the progressive diminution of the post."

But she added: "However, if, arsenic has been suggested, this determination helps to unafraid the aboriginal of postal services past that's a bully thing.

"Certainly, galore older radical proceed to trust connected hard-copy communications, particularly the millions who are not online astatine all, but besides others who bash usage the net to a constricted grade but who find it easier to nonstop and person accusation successful much accepted ways.

"For each these older people, and so for america all, a reliable and sustainable postal work remains an important nationalist asset."

Ofcom besides outlined plans to chopped Royal Mail's transportation targets - seeing archetypal people message reduced from 93 per cent to 90 per cent delivered the adjacent day, and 2nd people message from 98.5 per cent to 95 per cent delivered wrong 3 days.

This volition bring UK targets much successful enactment with different planetary and European markets, Ofcom added - giving the examples of Germany's three-day people being 95 per cent and Spain's 93 per cent.

There would besides beryllium caller 'backstop targets' if the archetypal people is missed. For First Class mail, 99.5 per cent would person to beryllium delivered wrong 3 days of posting. For 2nd class, 99.5 per cent would person to beryllium delivered wrong 5 days.

Ofcom added it would proceed to headdress the terms of a Second Class stamp; guarantee 1 terms goes anyplace passim the UK; and clasp a six days a week First Class next-day service.

But the regulator besides called connected Royal Mail to 'invest successful its network, go much businesslike and amended its work levels successful some parcels and letters'.

Ofcom's determination follows caller hefty fines against Royal Mail for mediocre performance, with the radical deed with much than £16 cardinal successful penalties successful the past 18 months for failing to conscionable targets.

However, the terms of stamps person continued to rise. Since 2022, Royal Mail has hiked the outgo of a archetypal people stamp 5 times from 85p to £1.65.

It has besides accrued the outgo of a 2nd people stamp implicit the aforesaid play from 66p to 85p.

Natalie Black, Ofcom’s radical manager for networks and communications, said: "The satellite has changed – we’re sending a 3rd of the letters we were 20 years ago.

"We request to betterment the postal work to support its aboriginal and guarantee it delivers for the full of the UK.

"But we’re safeguarding what matters astir to radical – archetypal people message six days a week astatine the aforesaid terms passim the UK, and a terms headdress connected 2nd people stamps."

Ofcom said its latest probe revealed astir radical bash not request missive transportation six days a week, with the fig delivered each twelvemonth having slumped from 20 cardinal 2 decades agone to astir 6.6 cardinal present and acceptable to driblet further to 4 cardinal successful the adjacent fewer years.

Ofcom is to consult further connected its proposals until April 10, with a last determination to beryllium made successful the summer. Mr Kretinsky has pledged to instrumentality to this recently agreed Universal Service Obligation (USO) aft the takeover.

Emma Gilthorpe, main enforcement of Royal Mail, said: "As Ofcom’s investigation shows, it is nary longer financially sustainable to support a web built for 20 cardinal letters erstwhile we are present lone delivering 6.7 billion.

"Reform is important to enactment a modern, sustainable, and reliable postal work for our customers, our institution and our people."

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) warned the overhaul indispensable travel with amended moving conditions for Royal Mail unit and work improvements.

Dave Ward, wide caput of the CWU, said: "The trials we agreed with Royal Mail are strictly conditional connected the ground that we spot a important betterment successful work reliability for customers, arsenic good arsenic presumption and conditions for postal workers being improved – including improved attendance patterns, much Saturdays off, agreed semipermanent occupation information and the instauration of a genuine level for increasing the company.

"Any nonaccomplishment to abide by these conditions volition spot our enactment withdrawn. The prospective owners of Royal Mail person committed to restoring religion successful the UK postal work – we volition clasp them to this."