Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether he has had recent discussions with Royal Mail on taking steps to provide timely deliveries during (a) adverse weather events and (b) periods of high staff sickness absence.

Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider.

Royal Mail is an independent, privately‑owned business, and the government does not have a role in its operational decisions. Ofcom, the independent regulator for postal services, monitors and assesses Royal Mail’s provision of the universal service. It can take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification.

Royal Mail is required, under Ofcom’s regulations, to maintain, implement, and review appropriate contingency plans to provide the universal service in the event of an emergency or a natural disaster at the local, regional, and national level.