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Postal Services: Competition

Question for Department for Business and Trade

UIN HL4829, tabled on 21 May 2024

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the competitive landscape of the UK's postal and parcel delivery market (1) remains fair, and (2) does not lead to monopolistic practices post-takeover.

Answered on

24 May 2024

Ofcom’s duties, as the independent regulator for postal services, include furthering the interests of citizens and consumers, where appropriate by promoting competition.

Ofcom’s regulatory framework supports competition by imposing minimal intervention in competitive areas of the postal market, for example, in relation to parcel services. Ofcom also requires Royal Mail, as the designated universal service provider, to allow access to its network for the provision of certain bulk letter and large letter services and impose a number of safeguards to protect postal operators reliant on this access.