The Government has issued a statement on Royal Mail reform after more than 10,000 people signed a petition calling for the postal service to be returned to public ownership. The petition, launched on March 25, received 10,325 signatures and has now closed.
Petition calls for renationalisation
The petition details concerns about the profits made by Royal Mail since its privatisation, urging the Government to return it to public ownership. It reads: "We are concerned that Royal Mail has made profits for years while having repeated industrial disputes with loyal postal workers. Letter delivery has failed time and again. We believe privatisation has clearly failed — the Government should restore Royal Mail to public ownership."
The petition adds: "The Government should purchase Royal Mail and return this essential service to public ownership."
Government response
When any petition receives 10,000 signatures or more, the Government must issue a written statement. On September 28, a response was shared by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade, which revealed that the Government has "no current plans" to return Royal Mail to public ownership.
The response reads: "Royal Mail is a critical part of our national infrastructure, providing crucial services for millions across the UK, and is an iconic part of UK national life. Privatisation was necessary to ensure this critical institution continues and that there is a consistent provision of a universal postal service that does not compete for public funds, which should be used to fund the NHS and other public services."
Service quality acknowledged
The statement continues by saying that privatisation remains the "most appropriate option" at this time, but acknowledges that the quality of service offered by Royal Mail "has not been good enough".
"However, the government do recognise that Royal Mail’s quality of service has not been good enough," the statement reads. "Ministers have regularly met Royal Mail’s leadership to discuss ongoing performance issues following reports of issues in a number of areas and will continue to make representations where service levels fall short."
The Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade added: "To support improvements in both quality of service and staff retention Royal Mail published its improvement plan on 21 April. The plan identifies a primary cause of service issues as the non-completion of delivery routes, and it sets out the measures and timeframes for improvement so that more routes are completed each day and constituents see fewer delays."
The business has also committed to investing £500 million to increase its frontline resourcing, and the availability of average weekly working hours for part-time employees will increase.
