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Ardmore Peninsula, Sutherland (Mail Deliveries)

I am grateful to have this opportunity to raise the vital issue for my constituents on the Ardmore peninsula of mail deliveries, the cessation of which threatens the very existence of that small and vibrant community. Perhaps it would be helpful if I were to explain where the Ardmore peninsula is. It is to be found on the west coast of Sutherland, to the south of Kinlochbervie. It is a small crofting township, comprising some half dozen or so households. There is also an important business located in it. It was founded by John Ridgeway, who is perhaps better known to Members as one half of the team of Chay Blyth and John Ridgeway that rowed across the Atlantic. He founded a very successful adventure school on the peninsula, which has been in operation for some 40 years. Ardmore is in many ways typical of the remote west coast townships in my constituency and of many other communities in the west highlands, but it is atypical in one regard. Many such communities have withered and died in the modern era, but Ardmore has flourished and succeeded. It has made the most of its environment, and has a business that keeps it going. Mail deliveries are essential for that business, but in March Royal Mail ceased to deliver mail to the Ardmore township. It cited two grounds for that. The first was that it was caught by the 15-minute rule exception—the rule by which, if it takes more than 15 minutes to deliver to a dwelling, Royal Mail can apply for an exemption from the universal service obligation. Therefore, I should perhaps explain the access that there is to the township. From the main road, a single-track road goes most of the way to the township, but for the final part of the journey that becomes a one-and-a-half-mile path. It is a public path that is maintained by the Highland council, which has the responsibility of looking after it. I should also mention that the last part of the path is a steep rise through what is described as a waterfall. Let me deal with the issue of the 15-minute rule. In an e-mail to me of 28 March, Royal Mail stated:"““Although this decision””—" the decision to cease delivery—"““has been taken primarily following the recent accident it has also been taken due to the delivery time falling out-with the regulators set criteria. This is set at 15 minutes—where the postman should not be delivering for longer than this to one door.””" Throughout its dialogue with me and the residents of Ardmore, Royal Mail has maintained that the 15-minute rule applies, irrespective of what might happen with regard to health and safety. However, when Postwatch looked into this matter, it found that that was not the case. It stated:"““Royal Mail had cited two reasons for ceasing deliveries to the above-mentioned addresses; health and safety, and delivery to the properties exceeds 15 minutes . . . The Direction states that in order for an address to qualify as an exception under the 15 minute rule it must be a single premise and be located on a private road or track and the track may be in poor condition . . . Therefore the 15 minute rule does not apply in this instance. The issue for Ardmore is therefore a single issue of Health and Safety.””" Therefore, my first question to the Minister is to ask him to confirm that that is indeed the case, and that we may set aside the 15-minute rule in respect of Ardmore. On the matter of health and safety, on 15 March a temporary postman slipped and fell. He reported the incident and also reported suffering bruising. The Lairg delivery manager, who has responsibility for the area, carried out a health and safety assessment and recommended the cessation of deliveries. At that time, I asked Royal Mail for a copy of the risk assessment, which it sent. It is clear from that assessment that it was written with the objective of achieving the desired conclusion, of which I give one example, rather than going through it line by line. The assessment states that by this stage of the route"““you have been walking for 38 minutes and it is difficult to keep concentration as you are very tired.””" Earlier in the year, I actually walked the route. I am nowhere near as fit as I used to be and I indulge in too many cigars, but I managed to walk from start to finish in 27 minutes without breaking into a sweat. I suggest that that is the more proper time for completing the circuit. What is perhaps more worrying is that when the residents obtained a copy of the health and safety assessment through the Freedom of Information Act 2000, which they were entitled to do, the copy that they received was substantially different from the original copy that I had received, as significant changes had been made. Postwatch has made it clear that it will not challenge Royal Mail's health and safety finding, as it correctly points out that it is Royal Mail's statutory duty to provide a safe working environment and Postwatch will not challenge its conclusion. However, its independent assessor also it made clear that it is the very last part of the walk, the steep part by the waterfall, that is of particular concern. I find it curious that a path that is considered safe by Highland council for a three-year-old and a five-year-old to walk to and from school every morning and evening, which is used throughout the year by thousands of visitors of all ages to access the adventure school, and which is used—obviously—by residents, and by tradesmen and other visitors, should be of such singular concern to Royal Mail. There is a compromise that could be acceptable to the community, that the deliveries would be resumed to a point at the base of the waterfall where there is a fence. When I walked the path I was very pleasantly surprised, because there are a great many paths in the other part of my constituency, in Caithness, some of which even fall within my property, which are in nowhere near the same condition. The path is rather good and up to the fence it is reasonably level; it undulates rather than rising steeply. The community proposes that a post-box is placed at that point, which would be visible from their houses. The residents could then make the arduous ascent and descent to collect their mail. I ask the Minister to use his good offices to ensure that Royal Mail considers that option and, I hope, accepts it. In the words of the residents,"““mail deliveries are the survival artery of the business community here.””" The Scottish Executive's policy objective in Scotland—I am sure that it is shared in Westminster—is to encourage remote and fragile communities to survive, therefore diversification into the kinds of business that they have is vital. For their success in the modern era, it is vital that arteries such as the mail continue to enable them to survive. I have always suspected that the decision was not really about health and safety, but far more to do with cost-cutting and with removing the costlier ends of the spectrum from the universal service obligation. I also suspect that the decision could be the first of many in my constituency and others like it in rural areas. We have heard a great deal during the last week about Royal Mail's profitability and its desire to become a viable and competitive business. I hope that that will not be achieved by shedding the more costly aspects of the universal service obligation. Will the Minister commit today to a truly universal service obligation? Will he confirm that the 15-minute rule exception does not apply in this case? Will he confirm that a decision taken under the health and safety exemption is a temporary exemption and that it can and will be reviewed on a regular basis? Would he support the proposed compromise, which should go a long way to solving the perceived problems of delivery and would be—if not entirely—a satisfactory answer for the residents? Will he help a flourishing community in a remote part of Scotland to continue to flourish?