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Royal Mail

The hon. Gentleman asks two questions. The first relates to Post Office Ltd. As I said, we are acutely aware of the importance of the relationship between Post Office Ltd and Royal Mail, and acutely aware that those arrangements enable the delivery of the universal service. It is our priority to keep the universal service, not to downgrade it. Therefore, we will be mindful of the importance of that to Post Office Ltd going forward. On regulation and other details, as I said, we will make a fuller statement in the new year, but Hooper's essential recommendation on this is clear: it is time for a change from the regulatory regime governed by Postcomm to a wider regulatory framework placing the Post Office in the context of the wider communications market and also ensuring that Ofcom's primary responsibility in this field will be the maintenance of the universal service.