Royal Mail must offer a quid pro quo if it cuts deliveries
The Independent|September 06, 2024
Here’s the truth – we send far fewer letters than we used to.
JAMES MOORE
Royal Mail must offer a quid pro quo if it cuts deliveries

Electronic communication is faster, cheaper and (much) more reliable. It is against this backdrop that the watchdog Ofcom kicked off a “national debate” on the future of the Royal Mail’s universal service obligation (USO) at the beginning of the year.

It now seems minded to accept the latter’s proposals for reforms.

These would see second-class deliveries every other day with nothing on Saturday. There would still be a next-day delivery service for those paying for first class, including Saturdays. This was always coming. Martin Seidenberg, the boss of Mail owner International Distribution Services, puts the number of letters posted at 6.7 billion a year compared with the peak of 20 billion. The company also says it lost nearly £350m on providing the universal service in its last financial year.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 06, 2024 من The Independent.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 06, 2024 من The Independent.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من THE INDEPENDENT مشاهدة الكل
It's important we also focus on joyful pregnancy stories
The Independent

It's important we also focus on joyful pregnancy stories

Weeks away from giving birth... and surrounded by traumatic headlines, depressing tales and stats, Lucy Thackray went in search of mums who are happy to share positive experiences

time-read
7 mins  |
September 15, 2024
STUCK IN A SPACE JAM
The Independent

STUCK IN A SPACE JAM

Rationed clothes and freeze-dried food might not sound ideal but astronauts stranded on the International Space Station insist they're having a 'great' time

time-read
4 mins  |
September 15, 2024
Red Roses open stadium in style with New Zealand win
The Independent

Red Roses open stadium in style with New Zealand win

Never let it be said that these Red Roses don’t know how to throw a housewarming party.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 15, 2024
Norris's F1 title hopes hit in Baku after dire qualifying
The Independent

Norris's F1 title hopes hit in Baku after dire qualifying

Lando Norris’s title hopes were dealt a huge blow after he suffered a shock elimination from the first part of qualifying as Charles Leclerc took pole position at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix for the fourth year running.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 15, 2024
Ruthless Man Utd survive a shaky start to claim victory
The Independent

Ruthless Man Utd survive a shaky start to claim victory

Matthijs de Ligt and Marcus Rashford scored shortly after Andre Onana’s spot-kick save to put Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United on course for a much-needed 3-0 victory at promoted Southampton.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 15, 2024
Slot receives first unwanted lesson as Liverpool struggle
The Independent

Slot receives first unwanted lesson as Liverpool struggle

A historic occasion on Merseyside, just not the sort Arne Slot could celebrate.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 15, 2024
Hong Kong journalists face unprecedented harassment from pro-China ‘patriots'
The Independent

Hong Kong journalists face unprecedented harassment from pro-China ‘patriots'

At least 15 Hong Kong journalists and their families have been facing harassment and intimidation from self-proclaimed pro-China “patriots” in recent months, the city’s largest journalist association has said.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 15, 2024
Choose the lesser evil, Pope advises US Catholic voters
The Independent

Choose the lesser evil, Pope advises US Catholic voters

Pope Francis has waded into US politics in a rare intervention, criticising both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris as being “against life” and urging American voters to pick “the lesser evil” between the two.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 15, 2024
Four children and six adults killed in IDF strike on Gaza
The Independent

Four children and six adults killed in IDF strike on Gaza

At least 10 Palestinians have been killed, including four children, in an Israeli airstrike on a home in Gaza, local media has reported.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 15, 2024
Medvedev threatens to turn Kyiv into 'grey melted spot'
The Independent

Medvedev threatens to turn Kyiv into 'grey melted spot'

The former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev warns of a very harsh response if long-range Western missiles are used

time-read
2 mins  |
September 15, 2024