|
| |
|
24 | Orders and regulations |
| |
| |
(a) | an order under section 16 that contains provision establishing a new |
| |
public scheme or transferring qualifying accrued rights to a new public |
| |
| 5 |
(b) | any order under any other provision of this Part, |
| |
| the Secretary of State must consult the trustee of the RMPP and a Royal Mail |
| |
company (within the meaning of Part 1). |
| |
(2) | The Secretary of State may not make an order under any provision of this Part |
| |
(apart from section 23) unless the Treasury have consented to its making. |
| 10 |
(3) | Any order under this Part is subject to negative resolution procedure. |
| |
(4) | A statutory instrument containing regulations under section 22 is subject to |
| |
annulment in pursuance of a resolution of the House of Commons. |
| |
(5) | Nothing in any provision of this Part that authorises the inclusion of any |
| |
particular kind of provision in any order, regulations or scheme is to be read as |
| 15 |
restricting the generality of the provision that may be included in the order, |
| |
| |
25 | Interpretation of Part 2 |
| |
| |
“active member” has the meaning given by section 124(1) of the Pensions |
| 20 |
| |
“company” means any body corporate, |
| |
“deferred member” has the meaning given by section 124(1) of the |
| |
| |
“enactment” includes an enactment whenever passed or made, |
| 25 |
“member” has the meaning given by section 124(1) of the Pensions Act |
| |
| |
“money purchase benefits” has the meaning given by section 181 of the |
| |
Pension Schemes Act 1993, |
| |
“new public scheme” has the meaning given by section 16, |
| 30 |
“occupational pension scheme” has the meaning given by section 1 of the |
| |
Pension Schemes Act 1993, |
| |
“pensionable service” has the meaning given by section 124(1) of the |
| |
| |
“pension credit right” has the meaning given by section 124(1) of the |
| 35 |
| |
“prescribed” means specified in, or determined in accordance with, an |
| |
order made by the Secretary of State, |
| |
“qualifying accrued rights”, in relation to qualifying members of the |
| |
RMPP, has the meaning given by section 15, |
| 40 |
“qualifying member of the RMPP” has the meaning given by section 15, |
| |
“the qualifying time” has the meaning given by section 15, |
| |
“the RMPP” has the meaning given by section 15. |
| |
(2) | Any reference in this Part to amending the RMPP includes— |
| |
(a) | amending the trust deed or rules of the RMPP or any other instrument |
| 45 |
relating to the constitution, management or operation of the RMPP, and |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
(b) | amending any instrument relating to the provision of financial support |
| |
to or in relation to the RMPP. |
| |
| |
Regulation of postal services |
| |
| 5 |
26 | Postal services, postal packets and postal operators |
| |
(1) | “Postal services” means— |
| |
(a) | the service of conveying postal packets from one place to another by |
| |
| |
(b) | the incidental services of receiving, collecting, sorting and delivering |
| 10 |
| |
(c) | any other service which relates to, and is provided in conjunction with, |
| |
any service within paragraph (a) or (b). |
| |
(2) | “Postal packet” means a letter, parcel, packet or other article transmissible by |
| |
| 15 |
(3) | “Postal operator” means a person who provides— |
| |
(a) | the service of conveying postal packets from one place to another by |
| |
| |
(b) | any of the incidental services of receiving, collecting, sorting and |
| |
delivering postal packets. |
| 20 |
(4) | A person is not to be regarded as a postal operator merely as a result of |
| |
receiving postal packets in the course of acting as an agent for, or otherwise on |
| |
| |
(5) | The Secretary of State may make regulations prescribing circumstances in |
| |
which subsection (4) is not to apply. |
| 25 |
(6) | Regulations under subsection (5) are subject to affirmative resolution |
| |
| |
27 | General authorisation to provide postal services |
| |
(1) | Persons may provide postal services without the need for any licence or |
| |
authorisation, but the provision of those services by postal operators may be |
| 30 |
subject to regulatory conditions that OFCOM may impose on them under this |
| |
| |
(2) | In this Part a “regulatory condition” means any of the following conditions— |
| |
(a) | a designated USP condition (see sections 35 and 36), |
| |
(b) | a USP access condition (see section 37 and Schedule 3), |
| 35 |
(c) | a USP accounting condition (see section 38), |
| |
(d) | a general universal service condition (see section 40), |
| |
(e) | an essential condition (see section 47), |
| |
(f) | a general access condition (see section 48 and Schedule 3), and |
| |
(g) | a consumer protection condition (see sections 49 and 50). |
| 40 |
|
| |
|
| |
|
The universal postal service |
| |
28 | Duty to secure provision of universal postal service |
| |
(1) | OFCOM must carry out their functions in relation to postal services in a way |
| |
that they consider will secure the provision of a universal postal service. |
| |
(2) | Accordingly, the power of OFCOM to impose access or other regulatory |
| 5 |
conditions is subject to the duty imposed by subsection (1). |
| |
(3) | In performing their duty under subsection (1) OFCOM must have regard to— |
| |
(a) | the need for the provision of a universal postal service to be financially |
| |
| |
(b) | the need for the provision of a universal postal service to be efficient. |
| 10 |
(4) | OFCOM’s duty under subsection (1) includes a duty to carry out their |
| |
functions in relation to postal services in a way that they consider will secure |
| |
the provision of sufficient access points to meet the reasonable needs of users |
| |
of the universal postal service. |
| |
(5) | In this Part “access point” means any box, receptacle or other facility provided |
| 15 |
for the purpose of receiving postal packets, or any class of postal packets, for |
| |
onwards transmission by post. |
| |
29 | The universal postal service |
| |
(1) | OFCOM must by order (a “universal postal service order”) set out— |
| |
(a) | a description of the services that they consider should be provided in |
| 20 |
the United Kingdom as a universal postal service, and |
| |
(b) | the standards with which those services are to comply. |
| |
(2) | A universal postal service must, as a minimum, include each of the services set |
| |
out in section 30 (as read with sections 31 and 32). |
| |
(3) | Before making or modifying a universal postal service order, OFCOM must |
| 25 |
carry out an assessment of the extent to which the market for the provision of |
| |
postal services in the United Kingdom is meeting the reasonable needs of the |
| |
| |
(4) | Subsection (3) does not apply in relation to the making of the first universal |
| |
postal service order; but OFCOM must carry out an assessment of the kind |
| 30 |
mentioned in that subsection before the end of the period of 18 months |
| |
beginning with the day on which the provisions of this Part come generally |
| |
| |
(5) | The Secretary of State may direct OFCOM to secure that the first universal |
| |
postal service order does not include services of a description specified in the |
| 35 |
| |
(6) | OFCOM must notify the European Commission of— |
| |
(a) | the universal postal service order, and |
| |
(b) | any modifications of the order. |
| |
| 40 |
This section sets out the services that must, as a minimum, be included in a |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
universal postal service. |
| |
Requirement 1: delivery of letters or other postal packets |
| |
(1) | At least one delivery of letters every Monday to Saturday— |
| |
(a) | to the home or premises of every individual or other person |
| |
in the United Kingdom, or |
| 5 |
(b) | to such identifiable points for the delivery of postal packets as |
| |
| |
(2) | At least one delivery of other postal packets every Monday to Friday |
| |
to the places within paragraph (1)(a) or (b). |
| |
(3) | The references in this requirement to the delivery of letters or other |
| 10 |
postal packets include the delivery of packets posted outside the |
| |
| |
Requirement 2: collection of letters or other postal packets |
| |
(1) | At least one collection of letters every Monday to Saturday from |
| |
every access point in the United Kingdom used for the purpose of |
| 15 |
receiving postal packets, or any class of them, for onwards |
| |
transmission in connection with the provision of a universal postal |
| |
| |
(2) | At least one collection of other postal packets every Monday to |
| |
Friday from every access point in the United Kingdom used for that |
| 20 |
| |
(3) | The references in this requirement to the onwards transmission of |
| |
letters or other postal packets include their onwards transmission to |
| |
places outside the United Kingdom. |
| |
Requirement 3: service at affordable prices in accordance with uniform public tariff |
| 25 |
(1) | A service of conveying postal packets from one place to another by |
| |
post (including the incidental services of receiving, collecting, |
| |
sorting and delivering them) at affordable prices determined in |
| |
accordance with a public tariff which is uniform throughout the |
| |
| 30 |
(2) | The reference in this requirement to conveying postal packets from |
| |
one place to another includes conveying them to places outside the |
| |
| |
Requirement 4: registered items service |
| |
| A registered items service at affordable prices determined in |
| 35 |
accordance with a public tariff which is uniform throughout the |
| |
| |
Requirement 5: insured items service |
| |
| An insured items service at affordable prices determined in |
| |
accordance with a public tariff which is uniform throughout the |
| 40 |
| |
|
| |
|