Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what discussions his Department has had with Royal Mail to ensure that (a) the NHS barcode system is fully operational and that (b) NHS bodies understand how to implement it effectively.

The Government supports the measures being taken to ensure important communications from the NHS reach households on time and we encourage NHS bodies to make use of this service.

I recently met Alistair Cochrane, CEO of Royal Mail, and Martin Seidenberg, CEO of International Distribution Services, and raised concerns about Royal Mail’s performance with them. They reported continued targeted action to improve reliability and to deliver further sustained improvements. The government will continue to raise concerns with Royal Mail if the company’s quality of service does not improve.

It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail’s obligations and has told Royal Mail it must urgently publish and deliver a credible plan that delivers major and continuous improvement.