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Royal Mail: Universal Service Obligation

Asked by Alex McIntyreLabourDepartment for Business and TradeTabled Answered 16 July 2026UIN 17915

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, under the universal service obligation what requirement does Royal Mail have to report and monitor the delivery of second class post.

Answered by Blair McDougall

Ofcom is the independent regulator of postal services and is responsible for setting Royal Mail’s performance targets under the Universal Service Obligation (USO).

Ofcom’s regulation, under its Designated Universal Service Provider Condition, requires Royal Mail to monitor its performance, or procure the monitoring of its performance, on its USO services including Second Class mail. Royal Mail also publishes quarterly and annual reports on its quality of service. These are published on the website of Royal Mail’s parent company, International Distribution Services: www.internationaldistributionservices.com/en/regulation/universal-service-obligation/quality-of-service/.

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