Oral Answers to Questions

Mike Martin Excerpts

Thursday 15th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Kate Dearden]

I thank my hon. Friend for raising this issue in the House on behalf of her constituents and constituents across the country. Royal Mail’s service must improve quickly. Customers, particularly the most vulnerable, are being let down, and delayed letters, such as legal correspondence and hospital appointment letters, can have serious consequences. When people are paying more for postal services, they rightly expect reliable and timely delivery. The Government have been clear that Ofcom should carefully consider the role of bulk mail and whether additional regulatory measures are needed to secure high standards of reliability for all postal customers. Much of the correspondence that people rely on falls outside the current quality-of-service targets. We will continue to press for a reliable postal service that meets the needs of all users.

[Mike Martin (Tunbridge Wells) (LD)]

My question relates to the Tonbridge and Cranbrook delivery offices, which I know also deliver to your constituency, Madam Deputy Speaker. I ran a survey recently: 85% of people have experienced delays, 25% have missed a deadline or an appointment and, extraordinarily, 20% have experienced a three-week gap between postal deliveries. That is obviously totally unacceptable. Have the Government had conversations with Royal Mail specifically about the TN postcodes?

[Kate Dearden]

I thank the hon. Member for raising this issue on behalf of his constituents, and I share his concerns; I know from my own inbox, as a constituency MP, the challenges that arise when people do not receive their post on time and there are significant delays. I have been frank in my conversations with the CEO of Royal Mail that its service has been unacceptable for too long and that the pace of improvement must improve. The public and his constituents deserve a reliable postal service, and they are right to expect better. If he wants to share those data with me and with Royal Mail, and add to that pressure, I would welcome that.