Royal Mail: Performance

Richard Baker Excerpts

Wednesday 18th March 2026 Westminster Hall

[Richard Baker (Glenrothes and Mid Fife) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Twigg. I congratulate the hon. Member for Exmouth and Exeter East (David Reed) on securing this vital debate. I want to make three points about Royal Mail performance that are of particular concern to my constituents in Glenrothes and Mid Fife, and particularly in the town of Glenrothes.

Despite the fantastic efforts of our local postal workers, there have been significant delays in my constituents receiving mail, particularly over the Christmas period. A major factor in this is the understaffing of our delivery offices. Royal Mail is recruiting additional staff to address local pressures, but it is vital that there is action on recruitment and retention in the service for the longer term. Royal Mail must work with CWU to address the issue of its contracts creating a two-tier workforce.

[Leigh Ingham (Stafford) (Lab)]

Two-tier contracts have been raised in my constituency, with new employees being brought in on poorer terms and conditions. Moreover, the backlog has increased because, when people come back from sick leave, their overtime is cut, which causes real issues in building the backlog and causing staff members to come back to increased workloads. Does my hon. Friend agree that we cannot fix Royal Mail’s problems without fixing these two-tier contracts?

[Richard Baker]

My hon. Friend is completely correct, and as always makes the point eloquently. It is vital that Royal Mail management listen to her and CWU.

The hon. Member for Cheadle (Mr Morrison) was absolutely right about hospital appointments. Appointments letters arriving on the day of the appointment or after the appointment has taken place causes huge distress, as well as inefficiency for our local health services. Unfortunately, in Scotland, we do not have the NHS app enjoyed by colleagues in England, so these deliveries are all the more important, particularly for older people. They are not being prioritised—they are not being sent first or second class, but via an economy method. Royal Mail provides a barcode to prioritise deliveries, but it is not clear that has always been used; I am pursuing that with NHS Fife.

Finally, tougher targets are being set for Royal Mail in the years ahead, and I want to seek reassurance from the Minister that he will work with the Royal Mail and, crucially, the CWU to improve the vital service that the Royal Mail provides—not least with the forthcoming elections in Scotland, in which we will look to Royal Mail to deliver postal votes and electoral communications on time—so that our constituents can have confidence in this vital public service in the coming years.