A PARLIAMENTARY session will this week discuss how proposed changes to the Universal Postal Service (USO) will impact rural, remote and island communities, such as this region.
The evidence session is on Wednesday from 9:30 am and can be watched live on parliamentlive.tv
It’s a one-off event and follows on from an Ofcom consultation on proposed changes to the USO, which could reduce some delivery targets.
This has caused concern for residents in rural, remote and island areas, who already experience significant postal delays.
The cross-party committee will first question consumer bodies on the problems that remote and rural communities experience with the postal service. MPs will explore the impact that proposed changes to the USO would have on these remote areas, the feasibility of Royal Mail meeting the proposed new targets, and its affordability.
In the second panel, the committee will ask Ofcom about these proposed changes to the USO, how it assessed the impact on rural consumers and how it will ensure that these postal reforms improve the provision of post for consumers.
In the final panel, MPs will quiz Royal Mail on the operational differences between postal delivery in urban Scotland and its more rural areas, and whether the proposed service reforms will lead to higher prices for consumers.
