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Postal Services Bill [HL]

I shall not be able to be present when the Committee discusses later amendments relating to the governance of Royal Mail. I declare my interest as chair of Consumer Focus. Confidence in the future of Royal Mail and the Post Office is key to this discussion. I do not agree with this amendment and I consider that the noble Lord has wrongly interpreted the relationship with the regulator. The board is not subject to the regulator; the regulator regulates certain aspects of the business but the board must be independent of the regulator and the Government. Therefore, I consider that the amendment is misconceived. However, the Government must indicate clearly how they expect the governance of the new structure to work. I am very grateful to the Secretary of State for sending me a copy of the envisaged structure of the new industry. However, governance issues arise at every level of the company and will be different for the different parts of the structure. Whether or not we need to go into huge detail in the Bill, it is incumbent on the Government to indicate how they see the governance structure emerging. In that context I am bound to say that it is not only a question—as some have said—of representation of the potential partner or of the workers, you also need people on the board who have experience, as business or individual consumers, of the services both of Royal Mail and of Post Office Counters. Therefore, I do not support the relevant amendments on the Marshalled List today, but I hope that the Secretary of State will give a clearer indication of the thinking on governance.