Westminster Report

BY David Burton-Sampson MP for Southend West & Leigh.
Royal Mail.
I have shared with you before the frustration I hear from residents about the service from the Royal Mail.
Time and time again our electronic “postbag” is crammed full of stories from people who have missed hospital appointments, lost job opportunities, racked up debts and most importantly of all, failed to receive cherished greetings from loved ones.
It is important and can be life-changing, that we have a reliable postal service.
Back in April I held a public meeting with Royal Mail managers so that people could raise their concerns face to face. They faced angry questions from residents in Southend over claims of persistent delivery delays.
People were told that Southend had been selected for a universal service obligation pilot, which had changed delivery patterns and Royal Mail also cited staffing pressures.
Royal Mail apologised and promised improvements, adding that if it wasn’t better in the next seven days, then Royal Mail needed to know.
Unfortunately, despite patchy improvements, according to my “postbag” nothing has significantly changed. That was the message that I took to my meeting with the Business Minister, Blair McDougall.
We got around the table together to discuss the ongoing issues with the postal service in Southend, after I continued to hear complaints about late or non- existent deliveries from Royal Mail, despite their promises.
It was a really positive meeting. The Minister was very interested to hear about the shortcomings in deliveries here and the poor performance of Royal Mail. He added that he had been working closely with Royal Mail to challenge their service deficiencies.
The Business Minister agreed that a fresh consultation should be held in Southend to see exactly how people are finding the service, with the results being fed back to Ofcom.
Mr McDougall also requested that he is kept up to date with the findings.
The results of the survey do not make good reading so far.
Broadly speaking…89% of people who responded have reported either a continued poor service or unbelievably, a service that has worsened since April – if that is even possible!
Only 10% mention that they have seen a noticeable improvement.
Examples of difficulties include delayed post with important information from agencies like the Department of Work and Pensions.
Valued birthday and greetings cards also fail to arrive in a timely manner. There are many reports of NHS letters, as well as bank cards and medications going missing for long periods.
Residents have reported having to go to the sorting office themselves to pick up big bundles of post for themselves.
This is completely unacceptable.
The most common delays reported in my survey of residents’ views on their service from Royal Mail are of second-class post. NHS letters come next and then first-class mail.
Finally, the vast majority of respondents say they use the post service regularly and register either their total dissatisfaction or strong dissatisfaction with the service. Not one respondent reported an acceptable standard on their post.
This is a damning indictment of the service we are receiving and be in no doubt, I will take this further and continue campaigning until we get the sort of service we deserve. I promise to keep you informed of further developments.
At this time of year, as parliament dissolves for recess and schools break up for the summer, it can feel like a shift to new beginnings in the autumn but first we have our summer sun to enjoy.
We are so lucky in Southend to be such a fantastic coastal resort and I am looking forward to spending more time here and meeting more of you in a busy schedule over the next six weeks.
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