Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what steps he has taken to (a) protect and (b) enhance the resilience of postal services in rural areas from covid-19-related disruption.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, postal operators have continued to provide a valuable service to this country, including in rural communities.

The Universal Service Obligation is set out in the Postal Services Act 2011 and ensures a six-day a week, one price goes anywhere, service for the delivery and collection of letters (and five days a week for parcels) throughout the United Kingdom. Royal Mail, a private company, has well-established contingency plans to mitigate disruption to universal postal services, overseen by Ofcom, the UK’s designated independent regulator of postal services.

The Government’s objective in relation to postal services continues to be to secure a sustainable universal service for users throughout the UK, including those in remote and rural areas.