Examination of Witnesses (Questions 260-262)
POSTCOMM
24 FEBRUARY 2009
Q260 Mr Oaten: How much government
involvement has there been? What kind of pressure or relationship
has there been with various ministers in your role as regulator?
Mr Stapleton: There has been a
substantial amount of change. In my five years there have been
four different secretaries of state, starting with Patricia Hewitt.
I think there has been a very significant attitude change by government
in terms of respecting the independence of regulation. There has
not been as much as we might have expected in terms of government
looking at the interests not just of Royal Mail but also other
operators and the impact on customer values.
Q261 Mr Oaten: Would you like to
see greater involvement by government in ensuring the universal
service in future?
Mr Stapleton: I think the balance
we have talked about is quite right, but clearly the situation
we are in today arises because government has not applied more
pressure for Royal Mail to modernise. The interaction between
the shareholder and the company is clearly an issue, but I do
not believe that the interaction between the government and regulator
is as big.
Q262 Mr Oaten: If Hooper were to
be implemented and the changes we have talked about occurred you
would want government to keep a very close watch and have a greater
involvement to ensure that those changes were delivered?
Mr Stapleton: Government will
be a significant majority shareholder and it is probably even
more important if there is a strategic partner that it does the
job you would expect of a majority shareholder.
Chairman: This has been a slightly longer
session than we hoped. Mr Stapleton, this is probably the last
time we will have you before us; in your case, Mr Brown, it is
the first and last occasion. Although final farewells are always
difficult to predict, I hope it is not a "Frank Sinatra"
occasion. Gentlemen, thank you very much.
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