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

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of excess delivery charges on people in the far north of Scotland; and what steps he is taking to reduce those charges.

As a Government we have ensured that everyone, including retailers, has access to an affordable postal service for deliveries across the UK via the Universal Service.

The Consumer Protection Partnership is engaging with industry to understand their pricing models and how to reduce costs for consumers in Scotland and Northern Ireland but ultimately these are commercial decisions for each business. Wayfair’s decision to scrap delivery charges on purchases over £40 anywhere in the UK is the type of commercial decision that will drive competition and lead to lower costs.

Through the CPP’s engagement, industry is showing signs of shifting with marketplaces such as Amazon and eBay currently looking at how they can improve the transparency of their delivery options. Menzies Distribution also took a commercial decision to launch a new delivery service (HighlandParcels.com) last year enabling residents in the Highlands and Islands to register and receive their parcels for a fixed fee of £4.99 per delivery.