Ofcom, the postal regulator, is facing a critical ultimatum following the 'unacceptable' performance by the Royal Mail. MPs from the Business and Trade Committee submitted a report suggesting the regulator was 'not up to the job' of overseeing the delivery service.
Postal Performance Data
Only 74.9 per cent of first-class mail arrived the next day between April 2025 and January 2026 — 18.1 per cent lower than the target. This means 126 million first-class letters were delivered late during this period.
MPs' Ultimatum
The MPs' report has hit Ofcom with an ultimatum to sort itself out: six months to get the house in order and prove it can effectively manage the Royal Mail.
Liam Byrne, who chairs the committee, said: 'Millions of people are paying the price for a postal service that is simply not delivering. Hospital appointments missed, benefit decision notices delayed, fines arriving too late to challenge: these are not minor inconveniences, and they are the consequences of a national service failing to meet the standards the public has every right to expect.'
'Despite years of fines and missed targets, Royal Mail's performance remains unacceptable and Ofcom has failed to drive the change that is needed at the pace that is needed. We were deeply concerned by the apparent lack of any serious investigation into whether letters are being deprioritised in favour of more profitable parcels.'
Changes in the Postal Market
'We recognise that the postal market has changed beyond recognition. Major logistics firms are effectively hiving off profits while relying on Royal Mail's universal service network to reach harder-to-serve parts of the country. The universal service remains one of Britain's great civic guarantees, but confidence in it is ebbing away, and Ofcom now has six months to prove it has the power and drive to regulate the 21st-century postal market.'
