Policy & Research
Background briefings
Universal postal service
The history of the universal postal service
In the UK, the universal service is most commonly understood as the right to communicate in an affordable and easily accessible way. This stems from the mid-nineteenth century when political reformer Rowland Hill introduced two innovations that transformed postal services around the globe. He initiated a geographically uniform postal rate and advocated the notion that the sender, not the recipient, should make the payment.
What is a universal postal service?
EU Directive 97/67/EC set up a new EU framework for the regulation of postal services, which ensured the provision of a universal postal service in each member state. This defined the minimum characteristics of this universal service as:
- one collection from appropriate access points every working day
- one delivery to all addresses every working day
- to include postal items and packages up to 20 kilograms; plus
- a service for registered items and insured items
All member countries of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) are obliged to ensure that ‘all customers enjoy the right to a universal postal service involving the permanent provision of quality basic postal services at all points in their territory at affordable prices’. However, it is up to member countries to decide how best to fulfil the universal service. There are broad differences between how the universal service is viewed, even in the European Union where the European Postal Services Directive imposes minimum requirements on its member states.
In the UK, the Postal Services Act 2000 fulfilled this universal service obligation by designating Royal Mail as the universal service provider. The Act went further than the 1997 Directive by defining Saturday as a working day, so Royal Mail is required to deliver letters on six days a week (the universal service for parcels is delivery on five days a week, Monday to Friday). Royal Mail must provide a universal service for its regulated products to all addresses in the United Kingdom at an affordable, uniform tariff.
Are all postal services included in the universal service?
In April 2003, Postcomm (the postal services regulator) undertook a consultation on what services should be provided in the universal service in the UK. Having considered the responses from interested parties, Postcomm concluded that the universal service should provide a range of postal services that meet a variety of customer needs – commercial as well as social. Postcomm has decided that the services that make up the universal service that Royal Mail must provide to customers are:
- priority and non-priority mail services (letters and packets) up to 2 kilos (Royal Mail’s First and Second Class mail service and bulk mail services)
- a non-priority parcels service up to 20 kilos (Royal Mail’s standard parcel service)
- a registered and insured service (Royal Mail’s Special Delivery (next day) and Recorded (Signed-for) products)
- a range of support services to ensure the security and integrity of mail (Royal Mail’s Re-direction (up to 12 months), Keepsafe, Post Restante, Certificate of posting and Business collections)
- international outbound service (Royal Mail’s international public tariff and International Signed For products). The UK is also subject to the requirements of the Universal Postal Union to provide a service for delivery of international inbound mail. Although international outbound services are included in the universal service, there is no requirement for them to be priced on a geographically uniform basis
Postcomm is required to ensure the provision of the universal service via Royal Mail’s licence.
The table below shows how the USO is defined firstly by EU Directive 97/67/EC, then by the Postal Services Act 2000, and finally by Royal Mail’s licence.
| Categories | EU Directive | Postal Services Act | Royal Mail Licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uniform/affordable tariff | Universal service of specified quality at all points at affordable prices for all users. | Provide a postal service at an affordable and uniform tariff throughout the UK. | Services to be provided at uniform and affordable prices throughout the UK. USO includes services for letters posted individually and letters posted, unsorted and sorted in bulk. |
| Universal Service Provider | A public or private entity must provide the universal service, either in full or just in part. | Duty of Postcomm to ensure the provision of the USO. It may impose a condition on a postal licence holder to require them to fulfil all or part of the USO. | Royal Mail must provide the Universal Service Obligation (USO). |
| Weight | The universal service must provide for postal items of up to 2kg and postal packages up to 10kg | Mail services: letters and packets up to 2kgs (including bulk mail) and parcels weighing up to 20kg | (See paragraph 13) |
| Delivery and collections | No less than 5 days collection and delivery | Universal Service, except in special/geographical circumstances, must include one delivery of mail made to every address in the UK, at least one collection of mail made every working day from each access point.* | Royal Mail must provide, barring special exceptions: at least one delivery of mail every working day to the premises of every person in UK; at least one collection of mail every working day from each access point. |
| Access Points | Ensure density of access points takes into account the needs of users. | (See paragraph 4) | Royal Mail must provide access points which provide the Universal Service in accordance with the needs of users. |
| Registered/Insured product | Yes | Registered service at uniform/affordable prices. | Yes (Special Delivery) |
| Cross Border Mail | Member States must ensure that postal packages received from other Member States weighing up to 20kg are delivered within their borders. | Incoming and outgoing services for letters posted from and to addresses outside the UK. |
*Monday to Saturday for letters, Monday to Friday for parcels.
Why is the universal service important?
Postal services are essential to society. Firstly, they allow the free flow of information between groups and individuals, taking into account the interests of vulnerable people including the disabled, chronically sick, pensioners, those on low incomes and those living in rural areas. Although technology has produced alternative ways for individuals to communicate with one another (such as telephones, faxes and email) many people still rely on the post as an important means of communication.
Secondly, postal services are very important to businesses and, therefore, to economic development. Businesses rely on the provision of reliable and secure postal services to ensure the distribution of letters and goods to their customers, suppliers and enquirers on a day-to-day basis.
Because postal services play such a valuable social and economic role in modern society, it is crucial that everyone has access to them on the same terms. Customer needs are likely to evolve, and it is widely recognised that the universal service will need to be regularly monitored and reviewed to ensure that it takes account of changing customer requirements.
Are there any circumstances when the universal service does not apply?
Under its licence, Royal Mail is obliged to provide the universal service. This means that every working day it must make at least one collection of mail from every access point including every post box and post office and at least one relevant mail delivery to the home or premises of every individual in the UK. However, the licence recognises that, in exceptional circumstances, it may not be possible to provide the universal service.
Royal Mail may, therefore, be exempt from making daily deliveries to individual premises on either a long-term or temporary basis and the circumstances in which exceptions can apply are clearly defined. The following table gives details of the long-term exception and temporary suspension categories and some examples of geographical or other circumstances when they might apply. If you fall into one of these categories and do not receive a daily delivery you are entitled to appeal to Royal Mail. Further details of the appeals process are contained in its appeals document.
| Nature of exception | Long-term exception examples | Temporary suspension examples |
|---|---|---|
| Health and safety | Customer fails to provide access suitable for Royal Mail staff and vehicles, causing health and safety risk. Difficult or dangerous terrain. | Customer fails to provide access suitable for Royal Mail staff and vehicles, causing health and safety risk. Difficult or dangerous terrain. |
| Difficulty of access | Some island addresses or parts of the mainland only accessible by limited ferry or air services or by boat. Premises where access involves more than a 15 minute round trip on a private access road or track in poor condition, on foot or by vehicle. |
Customer deliberately blocks access eg by locking gate. Customer does not provide a secure delivery point e.g. no letter box in front door and no alternative delivery point offered. |
| Customer request | Not applicable. | Customer has requested alternative delivery arrangements; eg deliveries of specified days or for specified period only. |
Currently, there is also a small proportion of post boxes and post offices from which Royal Mail is permanently exempt from making a daily collection: where a collection point is on an island or part of the mainland only accessible by limited ferry or air services or by boat, or within premises which do not open on certain days of the week. Where the collection point is difficult to access due to temporary obstructions, (eg road works), or where there are health and safety implications (eg vandalism) Royal Mail is temporarily exempt from having to make daily collections.
