§ Mr. WeirTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what impact the decision by Consignia to impose a charge to businesses to deliver letters before 9 am will have on the Universal Service Obligation. [70366]
§ Mr. Timms[holding answer 17 July 2002]Consignia has not decided to impose a charge of £20 per week to businesses for deliveries before 9 am. The company is currently running pilots of their new Tailored Delivery Service in 14 delivery offices across the country. Under the pilot, customers who receive 20 or more letters on a regular basis will get a delivery before 9 am. Other customers will receive their mail between 9 am and lunchtime. A new, additional service will allow customers who do not receive 20 or more items to choose to pay for a delivery before 9 am. The service will be trialled at £5, £10 and just over £14 per week for the pilots but the Chairman of Consignia has said that the final proposed price will be part of the evaluation of the pilots in consultation with the regulator, the Postal Services Commission (Postcomm), and the consumer body, Postwatch.
Under the terms of the licence issued to it by the Postal Services Commission (Postcomm), Consignia is required to provide a universal postal service. The licence sets out 446W services which are to be provided by Consignia in meeting a universal postal service. This includes a requirement to make at least one delivery of mail every working day to all addresses in the UK except in circumstances that Postcomm considers exceptional. It is for Postcomm to decide whether the new Tailored Delivery Service meets this requirement.