Tag: Royal Mail

Royal Mail UK rival objects to 'unfair state aid'

Posted by | Mar 14, 2006 | |

TNT Mail has intensified its campaign against the state-owned postal operator’s request for Pounds 2bn of government money, writing to MPs to argue the funding would constitute “unfair state aid”. The lobbying comes as parallel negotiations by Royal Mail with the government, its sole shareholder, and Postcomm, its regulator, near their climax. Royal Mail’s board will meet today to discuss its response to Postcomm’s latest version of proposed four-year price controls, which will allow the cost of a first-class stamp to rise from 30p to at least 36p by 2010. TNT Mail yesterday accused Royal Mail of using “11th hour brinkmanship” in its attempts to leverage the maximum amount from both ministers and Postcomm. In a letter sent to the main opposition parties, as well as MPs on the trade and industry and public accounts committees, TNT Mail said Royal Mail was profitable and a Pounds 2bn investment would be an “inappropriate and inefficient use of taxpayers’ money”. It argued that the Pounds 2bn would also “greatly distort” the postal services market. “Fractions of one penny influence the buying decisions of business mailers who are responsible for 85 per cent of the UK’s mail,” the letter said.

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Royal Mail row delays finance deal

Posted by | Mar 11, 2006 | |

Sharp differences between the Royal Mail and ministers over the postal operator’s business plans have spilt into the open, hampering talks over whether to pour more than Pounds 1bn of public money into the state-owned company. The Department of Trade and Industry believes Allan Leighton, Royal Mail chairman, needs to produce a firmer, more detailed and more credible business strategy before the government can agree to provide any financing.
There is uncertainty over the detail of the postal operator’s plan to give employees a stake in the company, a scheme that has been touted by Mr Leighton but which is opposed by the postal workers’ union and many Labour MPs. Ministers have made clear they are still waiting to see a well-argued case that the scheme would boost productivity. Yesterday, the DTI confirmed there had been “exploratory talks” about the share scheme but added that it had “not received robust or firm proposals on (it) as yet”. However, Royal Mail re-jected the suggestion that its proposals lacked detail and robustness. “We have submitted a very detailed, well-argued case for investment in the company, which is still with the government,” the company said. “The employee share scheme is an integral part of the case.”

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Rural post offices deal extended

Posted by | Mar 9, 2006 | |

Ministers have extended an agreement to minimise the closure of rural post offices until the autumn while the future of the loss-making network is discussed. The “no avoidable closures” deal between the government and Royal Mail to find a replacement when a local subpostmaster or mistress resigned, due to end this month, would be extended to the autumn, said Barry Gardiner, minister for competitiveness. Last month, the European Commission gave state aid clearance for the Pounds 150m annual subsidy for rural post offices to continue until 2008.

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UK mail chief issues post office revenue warning

Posted by | Mar 9, 2006 | |

Royal Mail chief Adam Crozier admitted last night the Government’s decision to withdraw card accounts is a key factor in the crisis facing the Post Office. He issued a statement in which he warned: “The decline of official business going through post office branches, including the withdrawal by 2010 of the Post Office Card Account, means that within the next few years less than 10% of the network’s revenue will come from work done for the Government.” And he appealed for “a full debate on the future of the rural network”. His comments came as the Post Office published a report on “innovative ways of providing its services in rural areas” which foreshadows what many fear will be a major closure programme when the annual £150million Government subsidy for the rural network runs out in 2008.

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Rural Pilot Activity Report – 2006

Posted by | Mar 8, 2006 | |

CONTENTS PAGE
Executive Summary 6
Developing and Testing Innovative Approaches 7
Propositions for Innovative ways of Providing Rural Services 7
Initial Findings from Pilots and Associated Analysis 9
Next Steps 10
1. BACKGROUND 11
1.1 History of the Rural Network up to 2000 11
1.2 PIU Report 11
1.3 Post Office Ltd’s Response 11
1.4 Postcomm’s Response 12
1.5 Government’s Response and Requirements for Further Pilot Activity 12
1.6 Post Office Ltd’s Rural Activity 13
2. THE RURAL NETWORK TODAY 14
2.1 Size of the Network 14
2.2 Stability of the Network 14
2.3 Trends in Sales: Growth of New Products Offsetting Loss of Benefits 14
2.4 Supply and Demand 15
2.5 Value of the Social Network 15
2.6 Customer Satisfaction 15
2.7 Current State: Description of the Current Environment 16
2.7.1 Demographic/Economic Trends 16
3. DEVELOPING ALTERNATIVE SERVICE DELIVER MODELS FOR RURAL AREAS 17
3.1 Criteria for Developing Credible Alternatives 17
3.2 The Role of Initial Pilots in Shaping the Options 17
3.2.1 Background to Initial Work 17
3.2.2 Initial Activity Undertaken 18
3.2.3 Developing the Integrated Work Packages 18
3.2.4 Implications for Subsequent Pilot Work 18
3.2.5 Developing the Integrated Work Packages and Pilots for 2005 18
3.3 Summary of the Approach to Developing the Options 19
4. DESCRIPTION OF POTENTIAL RURAL SERVICE PROPOSITION 20
4.1 Introduction 20
4.2 Commercial Branches 21
4.3 UK-Wide Direct Channels 21
4.4 The Core and Outreach Service Propositions 21
4.4.1 Profile and Role of the Core Branch 21
4.4.2 Outreach Services in General 22
4.4.3 The Virtual Services (‘Home Service’) 23
4.4.3.1 Proposition 23
4.4.3.2 Target Market 24
4.4.3.3 Operating Model 24
4.4.4 The Partner Service 24
4.4.4.1 Proposition 24
4.4.4.2 Target Market 24
4.4.4.3 Operating Model 25
4.4.5 The Hosted Service 25
4.4.5.1 Proposition 25
4.4.5.2 Target Market 25
4.4.5.3 Operating Model 25
4.4.6 The Mobile Service 26
4.4.6.1 Proposition 26
4.4.6.2 Target Market 26
4.4.6.3 Operating Model 26
Post Office Ltd – Rural Pilot Activity Report – 2006
4
CONTENTS PAGE
4.5 Conventional Branches Proposition 27
4.5.1 Profile and Role 27
4.5.2 Operating Model 27
4.6 Supporting these Service Propositions 27
5. APPROACH TO TESTING THE PROPOSITION 28
5.1 General Outline 28
5.1.1 Field Testing 28
5.1.2 Field Data Gathering 28
5.1.3 Basic Research and Analysis 29
5.2 Site Selection for Field Testing 29
5.2.1 Core and Outreach Site Selection 29
5.2.2 Site Selection for Community Support 30
5.2.3 Site Selection for the Hours Reduction Trial 30
5.3 Operational Deployment of 2005 Pilots 30
5.4 Profile of the Field Pilot Campaign: Characteristics of Pilot Sites 31
5.5 Conclusion 33
6. RESULTS AND ANALYSIS FROM THE TESTS 34
6.1 Network Shape 34
6.1.1 Home Service 34
6.1.1.1 Adoption of the Service 35
6.1.1.2 Stakeholder Response 36
6.1.1.3 Customer Response 36
6.1.1.4 Core Subpostmaster Response 37
6.1.1.5 Potential Scalability 37
6.1.1.6 Preliminary Conclusions 38
6.1.2 Partner Service 38
6.1.2.1 Adoption of the Service 39
6.1.2.2 Stakeholder Response 39
6.1.2.3 Customer Response 39
6.1.2.4 Core Subpostmaster Response 39
6.1.2.5 Partner Response 39
6.1.2.6 Potential Scalability 40
6.1.2.7 Preliminary Conclusions 40
6.1.3 Hosted Service 40
6.1.3.1 Adoption of the Service 41
6.1.3.2 Customer Response 42
6.1.3.3 Core Subpostmaster and Host Response 42
6.1.3.4 Stakeholder Response 43
6.1.3.5 Cost to the Core of Running the Service 43
6.1.3.6 Sales Generated by the Service 43
6.1.3.7 Potential Scalability 43
6.1.3.8 Preliminary Conclusions 44
6.1.4 Mobile Service 44
6.1.4.1 Adoption of the Service 45
6.1.4.2 Customer Response 46
6.1.4.3 Core Subpostmaster Response 46
6.1.4.4 Stakeholder Response 46
6.1.4.5 Cost to the Core of Running the Service 46
6.1.4.6 Sales Generated by the Service 47
6.1.4.7 Overall Commercial Impact 47
6.1.4.8 Potential Scalability 47
6.1.4.9 Preliminary Co

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