Labour MP Steve Race has met Ofcom chief executive Dame Melanie Dawes to press for stronger action over Royal Mail delays affecting people across Exeter.
The meeting, alongside MPs from other parts of the country, followed months of complaints from residents about late NHS letters, benefits decisions, bank cards and bills. Almost 50 individual cases have been raised with Royal Mail by Steve Race's office, and a survey he launched attracted nearly 400 responses: 98 per cent of respondents had experienced late or missing post and 89 per cent were dissatisfied with Royal Mail's service.
During the meeting he raised reports of staff shortages, delivery backlogs and operational pressure on Exeter's postal network, as well as scepticism he had heard from frontline postal workers about Royal Mail's reported performance figures.
Steve Race: 'A long way to go'
"I've heard from hundreds of Exeter people directly or through my survey who continue to experience serious delays and disruption," Steve Race said. "While Royal Mail has told me that performance is improving, the experience of local residents and postal workers suggests there is a long way to go."
"I wanted to make sure that Ofcom, as the body that oversees Royal Mail's performance, heard directly about the impact these failures are having on people across Exeter and to seek assurances that service standards are being properly monitored and enforced. I will continue to push Royal Mail to improve its delivery service in Exeter, but it's clear that more intervention from Ofcom and government is necessary."
Below target
Royal Mail's latest published figures show 81.8 per cent of first class letters in the EX postcode area were delivered the next working day, up from 74.4 per cent in the previous quarter but still short of Ofcom's 90 per cent target. The company has acknowledged that its Exeter service has not been good enough, but says recruitment and operational changes are having a positive impact and that there are no significant backlogs.
The meeting follows Steve Race's earlier pledge to take the issue to the regulator. Prime Minister Andy Burnham said this week that postal delays had been "unacceptable for far too long", warning that Royal Mail needs to bring forward a plan to restore service standards quickly "or we will consider further measures".
