Tag: Royal Mail

Courier told to explain lost data (UK)

Posted by | Jan 19, 2008 | |

The papers were found on Thursday by a motorist on a roundabout near Exeter.

Karl-Heinz Korzenientz picked up hundreds of documents with passport photocopies and benefit claims details.

Secretary of State Peter Hain has ordered an immediate inquiry. TNT said it “deeply regretted” the temporary loss of the documents.

The papers included incapacity benefit files, others relating to pensions and Jobseeker’s Allowance, bank statements, passport documents and copies of passports.

There were also documents relating to home loans and mortgage interest, and details of national insurance numbers, addresses and dates of birth.

The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said: “We have now recovered a number of documents following their loss from a TNT vehicle and we believe they constitute all the material that was lost.

“We have no reason to believe that any individuals’ details have been misused. We take the security of individuals’ data extremely seriously.

“As part of our own inquiry, we have asked TNT for a full and urgent report on all of the circumstances relating to the loss of this data.”

The Information Commissioner has also been informed.

The courier firm said: “TNT takes the loss of any consignment extremely seriously.

“We are currently working closely with partners in the DWP and a full and thorough inquiry into this incident is currently being undertaken.”

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Postcomm takes first steps to split Royal Mail operations

Posted by | Jan 18, 2008 | |

Postcomm has set the ball rolling on a consultation which could lead to the eventual separation of Royal Mail’s collection and delivery operations in order to improve on current access agreements.

A consultation document was published yesterday to review the current framework allowing rival operators to use Royal Mail’s delivery arm. Earlier in the week, Postcomm proposed the principle of ‘wholesale equivalence’ which has already been adopted by Ofcom to reduce the burden of regulation on BT.

These moves stem from Postcomm’s Strategy Review which was launched in August 2007. As part of this review Postcomm has made a commitment to evaluate the current access agreements and identify and resolve any problems with the existing arrangements.

A letter was sent this week to all postal operators, organisations representing mail users and postal watchdog Postwatch asking for their views on how best to regulate the industry from 2010 when the current price control arrangement expires.

In the letter, Postcomm chief executive Sarah Chambers said: “We want to begin by taking a top-down approach, based on what we have learned from our Strategy Review. We want to consider whether adopting a different approach could allow a significant reduction in the scope of regulation, whilst maintaining sufficient protection for customer and operators in those areas where Royal Mail has substantial and enduring market power.”

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Postcomm launches access review consultation (UK)

Posted by | Jan 17, 2008 | |

The focus of the access review is the current framework under Condition 9 of Royal Mail’s licence and the operation of access agreements. This new consultation is the first phase of an access review and aims to identify what problems – if any – exist with the current access framework. Later phases will consider the remedies needed to resolve any problems, as well as how to implement them.

Notes for editors

On 15 January 2008, Postcomm published an industry letter setting out scenarios for the future of the price control and regulation, including how Postcomm intends to take forward work covering price regulation, wholesale equivalence, cost transparency and access. As part of that consultation, Postcomm wants to consult on how effectively current access arrangements (as established under Condition 9 of Royal Mail’s licence) are working. This follows on from a commitment made in Postcomm’s “Strategy Review: Emerging Themes” report, published in August 2007, in which Postcomm said it planned to undertake a wide review to determine how well access had operated to date and to consider whether the introduction of an Access Code could be an efficient way to address potential concerns regarding non-price forms of discrimination for access users.

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Splitting of Royal Mail operations proposed (UK)

Posted by | Jan 17, 2008 | |

Royal Mail’s postal operation could be split in two under proposals put forward by the postal regulator to increase competition and reduce the burden of regulation.

Postcomm has written to all postal operators, organisations representing mail users and Postwatch, the consumer watchdog, asking them for their views on five options for regulating the industry from 2010.

Two of the options involve the principle of “wholesale equivalence”, which would split Royal Mail’s collection arm from its delivery arm by creating separate business units. That would make it easier to eliminate cross-subsidies; ensuring competitors had equal access to Royal Mail’s network, which they rely on for final delivery to homes and businesses.

At present, equal access is ensured by regulating a range of Royal Mail prices, including what it charges competitors for final delivery. This means 77 per cent of the state-owned operator’s revenues are controlled by Postcomm – a split, it says, could reduce the proportion to as little as 15 per cent.

This would be similar to the approach adopted by Ofcom, the media regulator, to reduce the regulatory burden on BT by requiring it to separate its retail operation from Openreach, the wholesale arm that handles calls for other telecom companies.

Postcomm said a split was unlikely to be effective in creating a level playing field for competitors unless the two organisations were physically separated. The businesses would need different management incentives, for example, so that the delivery arm was encouraged to offer equal service to Royal Mail and competitors.

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The Slimming Down Of Royal Mail

Posted by | Jan 17, 2008 | |

As Postcomm examines the way in which deregulation of postal services in the UK is progressing, one proposal being considered is the splitting of Royal Mail’s collection and delivery service. All those involved in the postal business are being asked for their opinion in order that Postcomm can put together a workable plan for the next phase of deregulation.

Royal Mail still holds the monopoly on postal delivery in the UK and it seems likely that this will remain so in the future, but Postcomm is trying to ensure that competitors have equal access to Royal Mail’s delivery network wand at the same time reduce the amount of red tape which Royal Mail is currently governed by.

Certainly the postal market will continue to evolve – and not without problems either. Last year saw a bitter dispute between Royal Mail and its workforce over plans to restructure working hours, pay and conditions to enable it to compete and whilst some degree of victory was heralded by both sides, the changes at Royal Mail, like the entire postal market, are probably the tip of the iceberg.

Perhaps the concept of splitting Royal Mail would push it further towards privatisation but for the moment, there seems little appetite for a complete sell-off and all previous attempts to do so have been scuppered by back benchers and the unions. It would just upset too many people.

That said, the gradual changes are being seen by many as a stealth approach to a sell-off, gradually bringing Royal Mail to a position where there is no other way forward. At the moment, Royal Mail is a state owned postal service chaired by a man with commercial experience and radical ideas, but so far, Allan Leighton’s ideas to modernise the business are to some extent, being held back by regulation and a union-entrenched workforce. However, the gradual erosion of Royal Mail’s monopoly and with Postcomm now lowering the licence fee for smaller operators to a mere fifty quid, the CWU will find itself with less and less to hang on to.

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