Scotland will have at least three new players in postal delivery to compete with the embattled Royal Mail from next January, the industry regulator confirmed yesterday.
Postcomm said that it had begun consultation over the issue of seven-year standard UK licences to three companies Hays Commercial Services, TNT and TPG Post UK. Unlike Royal Mail, none of the trio will be regulated over prices.
Read MoreRoyal Mail is considering merging some of Scotland’s rural post offices with local tourist information centres as part of its efforts to keep the struggling network afloat.
The postal operator, which formally ditched its Consignia moniker on Monday, has held preliminary talks with Visit-Scotland about the proposals.
Although still at an early stage, the move might help stave off closure for scores of rural post offices should it get the green light, providing a new source of income for Scotland’s cash-strapped postmasters.
Read MoreRoyal Mail Group faces the biggest competitive challenge in its more than 300-year history when the postal regulator releases plans for new seven-year licences for private firms as early as tomorrow.
The state-owned Royal Mail, which is losing pounds 1.2m a day, argued vociferously against the proposals in favour of a slower pace of market liberalisation.
But Postcomm, already embroiled in a fierce battle with the group over price controls, has ignored its advice and will push ahead by announcing terms and conditions for the new long-term licences to be introduced from January in place of the current 12 month permits.
Read MoreRoyal Mail’s attempt to sell its cash handling business to the private sector hit an obstacle yesterday after the Department of Trade and Industry decided to refer the move to the Competition Commission.
The move is potentially embarrassing for Alan Leighton, chairman of Royal Mail, who has been involved in a bitter battle with the Communication Workers’ Union over the outsourcing of services.
The CWU has opposed the sale, fearing for the jobs of the 3,000 workers who are set to be transferred if the sale to Securicor, the business services company, goes ahead. It also argues that the sale would give Securicor a virtual monopoly over cash handling and distribution.
Read MoreThe Royal Mail is considering mothballing a “unique” 75-year-old underground railway network to save costs, it was announced today.
The Mail Rail service, which runs from Paddington in west London to Whitechapel in east London, used to serve nine stations but now delivers post to only four.
Union officials were told today that the future of the system was being considered, with a clear hint that it could be closed.
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