New chairman takes over at UK Postcomm
Nigel Stapleton takes over the chairmanship of Postcomm from the close of the Commission’s 49th meeting today (15 January 2004). He succeeds Graham Corbett who has chaired Postcomm’s seven independent commissioners since the organisation was created in 2000.
Mr Stapleton said:
“We have to thank Graham for his leadership of the Commission during a critical period when the foundations of a fully competitive UK postal market have been set in place. Under his guidance Postcomm has implemented an operational licensing system, an effective price control and a framework for the introduction of competition in postal services. The recent announcement by Royal Mail and UK Mail that they have agreed Heads of Terms for ’downstream’ access to Royal Mail’s network completes the establishment of those foundations
“Supported by a strong team of Postcomm commissioners and staff, I am looking forward to leading the next stage of our work – creating a truly competitive and innovative postal market in the UK, while maintaining the universal service. At the moment, there are barriers to entry that have enabled Royal Mail, despite its own acknowledged inefficiencies, to retain more than 99% of the letters market. I want to see Royal Mail succeed with its renewal plan and for those entry barriers to be removed.”
Mr Stapleton has been appointed by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Patricia Hewitt, initially for a three-year term. He will work three days a week for Postcomm.
