An Act to establish the Postal Services Commission and the Consumer Council for Postal Services; to provide for the licensing of certain postal services and for a universal postal service; to provide for the vesting of the property, rights and liabilities of the Post Office in a company nominated by the Secretary of State and for the subsequent dissolution of the Post Office; to make further provision in relation to postal services; and for connected purposes.
The Bill has four main objectives. It will give the Post Office the scope to modernise and run a fully commercial business in the 21st century. It will achieve that by converting it from a statutory corporation to a public limited company, with ownership remaining with the Crown. That will complement the greater financial flexibility that we intend to give the Post Office.
The measure will promote competition by establishing a regulator, which will reduce the part of the market that is reserved largely as a monopoly for the Post Office. The reserved area will be reduced and opened to competitors to the extent that the universal service obligation will continue to be fulfilled.
The Bill will put consumers first by establishing a new independent regulator and a new consumer council. Both will have strong powers to protect and promote the interests of those who use postal services. The Bill will reinforce the Government's commitment to a modern counters network, which will ensure reasonable access to the counter services offered by the Post Office.[2]
Parliamentary Undersecretary Alan Johnson summed up the bill[3] before the vote.
As it was the hon. Gentleman's maiden speech, I shall respond very quickly to the three issues that he raised. He asked whether the £1 monopoly would be safe. The £1 monopoly will be there as long as it protects universal service at a uniform tariff, which we believe should be low enough to protect competition while protecting that very important principle...
We are modernising the Post Office. It was a Labour Government who, in 1969, took the Post Office out of the civil service and made it a public corporation. We are now modernising it so that it is able to face the new challenges of the 21st century.
We can be proud of the United Kingdom Post Office. We have provided the blueprint for postal services around the world. The Bill will preserve those cherished services while ensuring that a publicly owned Post Office is able to compete effectively in the communications market of the 21st century.
Liberalisation
The Postal Services Regulations 1999 (SI 1999/2107)
The Postal Services (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/3050), r.8
Amendments taking effect from 1st January 2006
8. In section 12B[7] of the Act -
(a) in the definition of "non-reservable service", for "80 pence" substitute "65 pence", and for "100 grams [sic]" substitute "50 grams",
(b) in the definition of "reservable service", for "80 pence" substitute "65 pence", and for "100 grams" substitute "50 grams".
Section 11 allows PostComm to grant licences that would otherwise contravene section 6(1), the general prohibition on conveying a letter from one place to another. Section 7 (amended by the 2002 regulations) stated that section 6(1) would not be contravened by carrying letters under £1 value.
Regulations
United Kingdom legislation
Postal Services Act 2000 (Consequential Modifications to Local Enactments) Order 2003
