COMMENT: Second-class post is now very much a second-class service
Ofcom's decision to end second-class postal deliveries on Saturdays will probably not create the type of furore that the cutting of winter fuel payments or the crackdown on welfare benefits has done.
The number of letters sent has been in steady decline for a number of years, and it is unlikely that anybody will be using the second-class service today if they need to send urgent documents.
On the other hand, it does represent yet further erosion of a public service which was once the envy of the world.
Meanwhile, the cost of using the service has risen exponentially. Thirty years ago, a second-class stamp cost just 19p, today it is 87p - more than a fourfold increase. Back in 1995, it was generally expected that a second-class letter would arrive within two days, whereas we are now being told to expect it within three. If Royal Mail was standing on the brink of administration, this might be more understandable. But given that Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky has recently paid £3.6 billion for the company, presumably in the belief that it will be profitable, it is puzzling to see why Ofcom so readily acceded to its demands.
Ofcom has also its targets for first-class post to be delivered the next day, from 93 per cent to 90 per cent, and second-class to be delivered within three days from 98.5 per cent to 95 per cent.
Maybe if Royal Mail complies with this targets, the relaxation of the rules may be acceptable. But it is becoming increasingly hard to avoid the conclusion that Royal Mail is offering an increasingly second-class service all round.
