Royal Mail has committed to a £500 million investment to address postal delays, aiming to meet new delivery targets set by regulator Ofcom by May next year. The announcement comes alongside plans to effectively scrap Saturday second-class post, with a new letter delivery model set to be phased in nationwide from next month, subject to union consultation.
Under the new system, second-class mail will be delivered only on alternate weekdays. The company expects these changes to boost first-class next-day delivery to around 85 per cent within nine months, targeting Ofcom’s 90 per cent goal within a year. For second-class post, Royal Mail aims to deliver 93 per cent within three days in nine months, reaching 95 per cent by May next year.
Ofcom has urged Royal Mail to implement its improvement plan promptly. The regulator recently lowered delivery targets—first-class next-day from 93 per cent to 90 per cent, and second-class within three days from 98.5 per cent to 95 per cent—and introduced an enforceable backstop requiring 99 per cent of mail to be delivered no more than two days late. Royal Mail was fined a record £21 million by Ofcom last October after missing targets in 2024-25.
The £500 million investment over five years will be funded by savings from Universal Service changes. It includes allowing around 6,000 part-time postal workers to increase their average weekly hours if needed. The plan follows last week’s agreement with the Communication Workers Union (CWU), ending a dispute over second-class post reforms, which will now be put to members for a ballot.
Royal Mail chief executive Alistair Cochrane said: “We recognise our service hasn’t always been the standard our customers rightly expect and we’re determined to do better.” CWU general secretary Dave Ward welcomed the proposal but stressed the need for assurances on workforce resourcing and workload management.
