Royal Mail has pledged to meet new postal delivery targets by May next year, backed by a £500 million investment. The commitment coincides with plans to effectively scrap Saturday second-class post, with a new delivery model phasing in nationwide from next month, subject to union consultation.
The company anticipates these changes will boost first-class next-day delivery to around 85 per cent within nine months, aiming for regulator Ofcom’s 90 per cent target within a year. Royal Mail also vowed to deliver 93 per cent of second-class letters in three days within nine months, reaching 95 per cent by May next year.
The move follows last week's agreement with the Communication Workers Union (CWU), resolving a lengthy dispute over the second-class post overhaul. The agreement, now being put to CWU members for a ballot, will see reforms extended to 240 delivery offices initially, before being completed across the full network by December.
Royal Mail – whose owner International Distribution Services was bought last year by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky – was fined a record £21 million by Ofcom in October for missing targets. In 2024-25, it delivered just 77 per cent of first-class post and 92.5 per cent of second-class post on time.
Ofcom has lowered delivery targets from 1 April, with first-class next-day delivery reduced from 93 per cent to 90 per cent, and second-class within three days from 98.5 per cent to 95 per cent. A new enforceable backstop target requires 99 per cent of mail to be delivered no more than two days late.
Royal Mail said its £500 million investment over five years includes allowing around 6,000 part-time postal workers to increase their average weekly hours if needed, funded by savings from the Universal Service changes. Chief executive Alistair Cochrane said the plan shows “how we’ll make a step change in performance across the UK”.
