The PPA has responded on behalf of members to three Postcomm consultations affecting the future of postal services in the UK.
The consultations focus on access by other operators to Royal Mail’s network, the regulatory framework going forward, and competition from non-postal alternatives.
Regarding access to Royal Mail’s network, the PPA states that no part should be precluded on fair and reasonable terms, and the Regulator should ensure mechanisms are in place to prevent Royal Mail acting in a discriminatory way against other operators.
The PPA also emphasises that a critical role of the regulatory framework going forward will be to provide long-term incentives for Royal Mail to drive efficiencies through the business.
We’d urge the Regulator to review the timetable of any future consultations - expecting stakeholders to respond to this volume of material in such a short space of time is just not reasonable
Nicola Rowe
In reference to Postcomm’s analysis of the ‘Publications’ market, the PPA supports the Regulator’s conclusion that alternative distribution methods exert only a very limited competitive restraint on postal prices for magazines.
The PPA also highlights to Postcomm that putting several consultations into the marketplace simultaneously and imposing a timetable requiring responses within 2 days of each other places unreasonable demands on stakeholders.
“Postal distribution remains hugely important for our members and we welcome the opportunity to input into these consultations,” said Nicola Rowe, the PPA’s Director of Circulation & Member Services.
“ However, we’d urge the Regulator to review the timetable of any future consultations - expecting stakeholders to respond to this volume of material in such a short space of time is just not reasonable”.