MPs have issued a stark ultimatum to Ofcom, giving the postal regulator six months to prove it can effectively oversee the 21st-century postal market or face statutory changes. A report by the Business and Trade Committee expressed serious doubts about Ofcom’s ability to regulate, suggesting it might be “not up to the job” after Royal Mail’s consistently poor performance.
Despite fines totalling more than £37 million since 2022, Royal Mail continues to miss targets. Between April 2025 and January 2026, only 74.9% of first-class mail arrived the next day – 18.1 percentage points below target. This equates to an estimated 126 million late deliveries, causing missed hospital appointments, delayed benefit decisions, and fines arriving too late to challenge.
The committee highlighted concerns that parcel giants like Amazon are “hiving off profits” by using Royal Mail’s universal service for harder-to-reach addresses without contributing to infrastructure costs. Around 16 million people experienced letter delays last Christmas, a 50% increase since 2024.
Committee chair Liam Byrne said: “Millions of people are paying the price for a postal service that is simply not delivering. Hospital appointments missed, benefit decision notices delayed, fines arriving too late to challenge: these are not minor inconveniences.” He added that Ofcom has failed to drive necessary change at the required pace.
Ofcom defended its actions, stating it has fined Royal Mail and demanded a credible improvement plan backed by £500 million investment. A spokesperson said: “The real issue is Royal Mail’s ability to deliver against its improvement plan.” The Communication Workers Union welcomed the report, accusing Ofcom of failing to address customer service failings and exploitative labour models at companies like Amazon and Evri.
