Committee publication · Correspondence · 19 May 2026
Letter from Citizens Advice relating to Royal Mail session, 18 May 2026
From: Business and Trade Committee
Inquiry: Royal Mail
Summary
Citizens Advice, the statutory postal consumer advocate for England and Wales, wrote to the Business and Trade Committee following its 18 May 2026 Royal Mail session. The letter warns that while Royal Mail has published a £100m-per-year improvement plan, Ofcom's regulatory approach remains inadequate. Citizens Advice urges retention of price controls ahead of Ofcom's forthcoming affordability review, warning that removing them would leave a monopoly provider unchecked to raise prices on captive consumers.
Key findings
- Royal Mail's previous improvement plan failed to deliver: fell 8.5% below 1st class and 4.8% below 2nd class targets despite commitments to 85% and 97% respectively.
- First-class stamp prices have risen 137% and second-class by 40% over 6 years—against inflation of 29.4%—while Royal Mail has missed quality targets throughout this period.
- Only 2nd class postage is currently price-capped; removing even this minimal price control would leave Royal Mail as a monopoly provider with unchecked ability to raise prices on essential services.
- Ofcom's postal regulation budget is £3.2 million (1.4% of total annual budget)—less than half what was spent on postal services in 2022/23—indicating regulatory underinvestment.
- Citizens Advice calls on Ofcom to condition any above-inflation price rises on Royal Mail meeting improvement plan commitments and to retain price controls before caps expire in early 2027.
Tone
CriticalTopics
Key actors
Citizens Advice, Business and Trade Committee, Royal Mail, Ofcom, Liam Byrne, Beth Foley, Dame Clare Moriarty
Notable line
“To scrap price control would leave the company in the unique position of holding a monopoly on an essential service with the ability to raise prices on captive consumers unchecked.”
Key Quotes
“Last year's improvement plan failed to deliver - although it committed to 85% of 1st class and 97% of 2nd class letters arriving on time, it fell 8.5% below its commitment on 1st class and 4.8% below on 2nd class.”
“In the 6 years since Royal Mail last met either its 1st or 2nd class quality of service targets, 1st class stamp prices have risen by 137% and 2nd class by 40% - against an inflation rate of 29.4%.”
“To scrap price control would leave the company in the unique position of holding a monopoly on an essential service with the ability to raise prices on captive consumers unchecked.”
“The regulator's budget for postal regulation was £3.2 million this year - equating to just 1.4% of their total annual budget and less than half of what they spent on postal services in 2022/23.”
“It is essential that Ofcom does not relax the current, minimal price protection in early”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗