Business, Innovation and Skills - Ninth Report
Competition in the postal services sector and the Universal Service Obligation

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Here you can browse the report together with the Proceedings of the Committee. The published report was ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 4 March 2015.

Contents

Terms of Reference

Summary

Glossary

1 Introduction

2 The Universal Service Obligation

Definition of the Universal Postal Service

Who uses the Universal Postal Service (UPS)?

The Universal Service and constituent parts of the United Kingdom

Cost of the Universal Service Obligation to Royal Mail

Cost of the Universal Service to Royal Mail, region by region

3 Access mail and Direct Delivery mail

Introduction

Direct Delivery—a threat to the USO as a result of cherry picking?

Royal Mail's submission to Ofcom

Ofcom's response

Regulatory intervention

Views of the Universal Service-should it change?

Price to customers

4 Competition and efficiency

Competition in the postal sector

Royal Mail efficiency

UK parcels market

UK Bulk Mail

Royal Mail's price structure for national average prices and zonal prices

Labour costs

5 Ofcom and the regulatory framework

6 Conclusion

Conclusions and recommendations

Formal Minutes

Witnesses

Published written evidence

List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament

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Prepared 12 March 2015