Access to Postal Services: A Final Report for Postcomm

In this report for Postcomm — the independent regulator for postal services in the UK — a NERA team led by Senior Consultant Leela Barham, Consultant Simon Maunder, and former Director John Dodgson sets out NERA's recommendations on criteria for accessing UK postal services. NERA was commissioned to:

Identify the current and future needs of postal users in relation to access to postal services. Access to the universal postal service means the use of access points capable of receiving large postal packets and special delivery.
Develop criteria that takes account of the way that the provision of access to postal services is changing (e.g., mobile offices) by suggesting a minimum number of opening hours, physical accessibility, and how in relation to communities and any other relevant factors this should be measured, with a particular consideration to meeting the reasonable needs of more vulnerable users and SMEs.
Develop recommendations on access to the universal postal service through post boxes and Post Offices, and how this should be measured, taking into account the reasonable needs of users.
Undertake a mapping exercise to examine access points in relation to a) Royal Mail's license (but not using the straight line method); b) Department for Trade and Industry (now the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform) criteria for the Post Office network; and c) any new access criteria suggested by NERA.

This research will help Postcomm to provide advice to the Government on access criteria, and is part of the regulator's work leading up to Royal Mail's price control in 2010. Learn more about NERA's role in this project.

The Situation

In 2007, NERA was commissioned by the Postal Services Commission (Postcomm), the independent regulator of postal services in the UK, to review access to postal services in the UK. The objectives of the study were to investigate the current and future access needs of postal users, review current access criteria, and develop new access criteria proposals as appropriate.

Although some services, such as stamps, can be purchased at a range of different outlets, the UK has traditionally provided access to postal services through a network of Post Offices and post boxes. In recent years, the number of Post Offices in the UK has declined, as the size of the network was reduced by almost a third between 1984 and 2004. The reduction reflects both sub-postmasters voluntarily closing their businesses and, more importantly, a response by policy makers to the changing use of Post Offices through the Urban Reinvention Programme, which closed around 2,500 postal branches between 2002 and 2006. The postal network remains under financial pressure, with losses of £2m per week in 2005-2006. In this context, accessibility to postal branches is likely to be reduced over time, and hence there is a need to consider whether current safeguards are set at an appropriate level and with the appropriate coverage.

NERA's Role

NERA, in conjunction with Accent, undertook surveys of vulnerable households (defined as aged over 65, disabled/chronically sick, or on low incomes), non-vulnerable households, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and small office/home offices (SoHos). The surveys allowed NERA to investigate the current and future access needs of postal users, including needs in urban and rural areas. The NERA team also reviewed international approaches to accessibility to postal services.

The Result

NERA's study, which can be downloaded here, will contribute to the development of Postcomm's advice to the Government on access criteria. The study has also contributed to Postcomm's work leading up to Royal Mail's price control in 2010.