Royal Mail has issued a delivery disruption alert for 23 postcode areas across the UK, affecting homes and businesses in locations including Bicester, New Ferry, and Perth. The service warned that mail will not be delivered on time in these areas due to local issues such as high levels of sick absence, resourcing problems, or other factors.
In a statement, Royal Mail said: 'We aim to deliver to all addresses we have mail for, six days a week. In a small number of local offices, this may temporarily not be possible due to local issues... We also provide targeted support to those offices to address their challenges and restore our service to the high standard our customers would normally receive.' The company apologised for any inconvenience.
Over the past 24 hours, Royal Mail's air and road network has run to schedule, but further delays have been reported at Norwich Mail Centre. Some mail posted in the NR postcode area for delivery today in other parts of the UK has been affected. Additionally, the Spring Bank Holiday next week will cause further delays, with no collections or deliveries except in Ayr (KA6-KA8).
The disruption comes as Royal Mail faces criticism over late deliveries and a £21 million fine from Ofcom in October for missing targets. In 2024-25, it delivered only 77% of First Class post and 92.5% of Second Class post on time. As part of a £500 million turnaround plan, Royal Mail aims to meet letter delivery targets by May 2027, including improving First Class Next Day delivery to around 85% within nine months and reaching the 90% target set by Ofcom within a year.
To help meet targets, Royal Mail plans to axe Saturday Second Class deliveries and move to alternate weekdays. The firm also vowed to deliver 93% of Second Class letters within three days over nine months, hitting the 95% target by May next year.
