The Greeting Card Association (GCA) has reacted to news that Daniel Křetínský has been successful in his offer to take over the ownership of Royal Mail and the future of the Universal Service Obligation (USO)
GCA chief executive officer Amanda Fergusson said:
“Mr Křetínský will own a British institution that’s been precious to the fabric of the nation for over 500 years.
“And while we acknowledge and welcome his investment plans and public promise to uphold Royal Mail’s obligations under the USO, our members remain deeply concerned about current plans to weaken Royal Mail’s commitment to customers.
“If proposed changes to the USO are implemented later this year, the small businesses we represent will be left increasingly reliant on an uncapped, unregulated first-class postal service that will put significant pressure on them, and the consumers they serve.
“Even the regulator Ofcom acknowledges that its proposals are likely to push first class stamp prices even higher, with its own data showing 62% are sending fewer letters precisely because of rising prices.
“The cost of a first-class stamp price is up 170% over the last decade, and the price rise that took effect earlier this month (April 7) is the sixth in under three years.
“These rises are causing significant concern among GCA members, which represents over 500 publishers, retailers, agents, specialist suppliers and distributors that make up an industry worth over £1.5bn to the UK economy.
“With over 17,000 now backing our petition to keep the postal service, national, reliable and affordable, we continue to have high-level discussions with Ofcom and other stakeholders in support of the needs of members and the card sector.”
Petition response
Earlier this year GCA members launched a petition to urge MPs to investigate proposed changes to Royal Mail’s USO and it’s now clear public sentiment echoes the GCA’s concerns.
The government has now responded to the petition. It stated in its response: ”The government is clear that Royal Mail’s quality of service has not been good enough. Ofcom, as the independent regulator for the postal sector, has set Royal Mail enforceable targets each year to deliver 93% of First-Class letters next-day and 98.5% of Second-Class letters within three days. Ofcom takes compliance with its regulatory targets seriously and this involves conducting thorough investigations where failures have been identified. In December 2024, following its investigation of Royal Mail’s performance in the 2023-24 financial year, Ofcom fined the company £10.5m because of its failure to meet service levels. In January, Justin Madders, the minister with policy responsibility for postal services, met representatives of Ofcom who gave their reassurance that they are closely monitoring Royal Mail’s performance. The government expects that Ofcom will continue to closely monitor Royal Mail’s performance and regularly press it on this issue to improve service levels as a matter of urgency.’’
Read the full response at https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/701850?reveal_response=yes
GCA CEO Amanda Fergusson commented: “We’re pleased to have received a formal response from the government acknowledging the service hasn’t been good enough.
“We would encourage those that haven’t done so to sign and share the petition, so we can keep the pressure on Royal Mail to maintain a national, reliable and affordable postal service.
“The Greeting Card Association continues to have high-level discussions with Ofcom and other stakeholders in support of the needs of members and the card sector.”
