The postal regulator, Ofcom, has faced sharp criticism for its perceived failure to tackle Royal Mail’s consistently “unacceptable” performance.
A report by MPs from the Business and Trade Committee expressed serious doubts, suggesting Ofcom might be “not up to the job” of overseeing an increasingly competitive and complex postal market.
Despite incurring fines from the regulator every year since 2022, Royal Mail continues to fall short of both public expectations and its own mandated targets.
The committee highlighted a dramatic decline in letter volumes, alongside concerns that parcel giants like Amazon are able to “hive off profits” by utilising the universal postal service for harder-to-reach addresses without contributing to the underlying Royal Mail infrastructure costs.
Between April 2025 and January 2026, only 74.9 per cent of first-class mail arrived the next day – a significant 18.1 percentage points below target.
This translates to an estimated 126 million first-class letters delivered late, leading to critical issues such as missed hospital appointments, delayed benefit decisions, and fines arriving too late to be challenged.
The MPs have now given Ofcom a six-month ultimatum to demonstrate it possesses the necessary authority and drive to effectively regulate the 21st-century postal market.
Around 16 million people experienced letter delays over Christmas last year, a 50% increase since 2024.
The committee said Ofcom had failed to provide Parliament with the concrete numbers of letters being delivered late, saying Royal Mail refused them on the grounds of commercial confidentiality, adding that if such a prohibition exists, it should be changed.
The MPs said if Ofcom failed to deliver better regulation of the postal market within six months of its report, the Secretary of State should consult on statutory changes “to ensure it is fit for the 21st-century postal market”.
Liam Byrne, who chairs the committee, said: “Millions of people are paying the price for a postal service that is simply not delivering.
“Hospital appointments missed, benefit decision notices delayed, fines arriving too late to challenge: these are not minor inconveniences, and they are the consequences of a national service failing to meet the standards the public has every right to expect.
“Despite years of fines and missed targets, Royal Mail’s performance remains unacceptable and Ofcom has failed to drive the change that is needed at the pace that is needed.
“We were deeply concerned by the apparent lack of any serious investigation into whether letters are being deprioritised in favour of more profitable parcels.
“We recognise that the postal market has changed beyond recognition. Major logistics firms are effectively hiving off profits while relying on Royal Mail’s universal service network to reach harder-to-serve parts of the country.
“The universal service remains one of Britain’s great civic guarantees, but confidence in it is ebbing away, and Ofcom now has six months to prove it has the power and drive to regulate the 21st-century postal market.”
An Ofcom spokesperson said: “As we made clear in our evidence to the committee, Ofcom has acted decisively – not only by using the full extent of our enforcement powers to fine Royal Mail more than £37 million for its poor performance, but also demanding a credible improvement plan from the company, backed by investment.
“We’ve also modernised our rules to reflect what people need and give the postal service the best chance of survival.
“The real issue at hand is Royal’s Mail’s ability to get on and deliver against its improvement plan, which has been a long time coming.
“Having finally struck an agreement with its union on modernising its operations, underpinned by a commitment to invest £500 million, Royal Mail now needs to urgently implement its promised reforms.
“We’ll continue to hold it to account on behalf of its customers, whom we agree have been badly let down by the company.”
Communication Workers Union general secretary Dave Ward said: “Postal workers across the country will welcome the committee’s conclusions.
“Time and time again, Ofcom has failed in its regulatory duties.
“At Royal Mail, it has failed to adequately address major customer service failings, appropriate staff resourcing and a culture of mismanagement at the company.
“It has also failed to seek an end to the exploitative labour models that other postal companies like Amazon and Evri use to siphon off mega profits and undercut Royal Mail.
“If Royal Mail stands a chance in the future, we must see a seriously reformed Ofcom that can honestly call out the problems and recommend the changes that are so clearly needed.”
