Budget Resolutions

Gill German Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd November 2026 Commons Chamber

[Gill German (Clwyd North) (Lab)]

This past weekend, out on the doorstep speaking to constituents in Clwyd North, I was reminded once again that the issues that people care about most are often very different from the arguments that dominate social media. Away from the toxicity and division that can sometimes fill our feeds, people were not so interested in political point scoring. Instead, they wanted to talk about the practical challenges they face every day: paying their bills, accessing healthcare, supporting their families and making their money go a little further.

The message I heard time and again was that people can see that this Budget is responding to those everyday pressures, despite global challenges. They welcome measures that will help with the cost of living, whether that is support with rising bills or action to bring down the cost of everyday items in their shopping baskets. These may be small changes in isolation, but when people are balancing a household budget every month, small savings can make a big difference.

They welcome the £100 payment towards energy bills and the extension of the 0% VAT rate on electricity bills. They welcome the removal of the gas standing charge, too. This change, which has long been called for, will mean that households pay only for the gas they actually use; for too long, households have paid unavoidable fixed costs regardless of how much energy they use. This is a welcome step, but I want to see real progress on electricity standing charges, too. Many families in north Wales are rightly frustrated that they pay some of the highest standing charges in the country—paying before they have even switched on a light. We have heard the Chancellor make it clear that removing the standing charge for electricity is the next area of focus, and I will be pressing for that commitment to be delivered so that my north Wales constituents have a fair deal.

Of course, I heard local people talk about public services. I heard concerns about waiting lists, access to healthcare, and support for additional learning needs in our schools. No one pretends that money alone will solve those challenges, but extra investment will give us a far better chance of tackling them. I therefore welcome the extra £450 million of additional funding coming to Wales, which builds on the largest funding settlement since devolution, delivered in the spending review by this Labour Government. My constituents want to see shorter waiting lists, better support for children and stronger public services. They want to see funding translated into results. It will be up to the minority Plaid Cymru Government in Wales to make that happen by getting on with the day job, with fewer consultations and more action.

Finally, one thing that genuinely encouraged me on the doorstep was a sense that people were starting to see politics as more connected to their everyday lives. There was support for our new Prime Minister, with one constituent saying, “I could imagine the Prime Minister standing on my doorstep having this very conversation.” That comment stayed with me, because it was not just about the Prime Minister; it was about feeling heard. People want politicians who speak their language, who understand the pressures facing them and who are focused on the issues that matter to them most.

This Budget responds to many of the concerns that people have raised with me in person, while providing welcome additional investment and opportunity for Wales. I will continue working to ensure that the people of Clwyd North see the full benefit of that investment.

Performance of Royal Mail

Gill German Excerpts

Monday 26th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[David Reed]

Again, we will find consensus here. I have a very mixed constituency with some really urban areas and some very rural areas, and there is a significant disparity in service delivery. When we think about the reasons why, we realise that it takes more time for posties to go out and deliver in some areas, which costs more money, and for a company that is stripping back quite significantly, we can understand why those problems arise.

Going back to the point about those who have been waiting for NHS correspondence, financial documents and other time-sensitive information that they rely on, a constituent has told me that letters relating to their cancer treatment have been arriving late. For patients already facing the anxiety and uncertainty of cancer treatment, the added worry of not receiving important medical correspondence is completely unacceptable. For those people, many of whom do not use email or online services, these delays can have particularly serious consequences.

I would like the Minister to address, if possible, a Royal Mail product called economy access mail. It is a non-time sensitive product, and organisations like the NHS and local councils will use it because it is the cheapest option, but they are not informing their customers that they are using it and that that is why correspondence arrives late more often than not.

Particularly frustrating is the repeated cycle my office faces whenever we raise these concerns with Royal Mail, and we have heard very similar experiences tonight about poor communication. My constituents should not have to be reaching out to their MP just to receive their post, nor can we keep having the same debates in this House without seeing any meaningful improvement.

We have discussed some of the numbers, but according to Royal Mail’s latest quarterly performance figures, just 81.8% of first-class letters in the EX postcode of my constituency were delivered within the next working day, against a local target of 87%. Again, I could go into all the numbers, but I am sure that many other Members will be raising them. All this should be considered in the context of a first-class stamp now costing £1.80. My constituents are paying for a first-class service but too often receiving something considerably worse.

I recognise that Royal Mail faces significant challenges. We are going through technological change on a level we have not seen over the last 500 years, and there are financial implications for businesses trying to operate in that environment. Letter volumes have fallen, operating costs have increased and the business model needs to be modernised. Royal Mail recently informed me that it has begun implementing a new delivery model at Exeter, which it says is going to improve output and save costs, but they are just commitments at the moment and after years of missed targets the public can be forgiven for wanting to see results rather than another improvement plan.

It is important to look at the numbers to understand what is really happening. Royal Mail made a loss of £400 million three years ago and £200 million a year after and a £14 million profit last year. We have been seeing lots of fat being cut out of the business, from normal business operations that can cut away that fat, but we have cut into the muscle now, and it is starting to look a lot like asset-stripping.

As I made clear in my previous debate, none of this criticism should be laid at the feet of the postmen or postwomen.

[Gill German (Clwyd North) (Lab)]

I want to put my thanks on record to postal workers across Clwyd North, and in particular in Colwyn bay where there have been recent problems, and to say sorry that they have been left to deal with the consequences of failure that are not of their making. Does the hon. Gentleman agree that frontline postal workers should not be expected to shoulder responsibility for problems stemming from the organisation, and that it is Royal Mail’s responsibility to ensure that resources are in the right place to provide a good service?

[David Reed]

We have yet more consensus. This is where we have to really dig into the universal service obligation and make sure that there are significant penalties if Royal Mail does not do what it has signed up to do and what we have asked it to do as a company.