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Postal Services Bill [HL]

I stand duly corrected. As I was going to say, the use of the post bus service is an operational question for Royal Mail’s management, but I am sure that this evening’s debate will raise those issues. On the security of the universal postal service, Clause 28 gives the Bill one of its essential features: Ofcom’s primary duty in this rebalancing is to secure the provision of the universal postal service. Amendment 80, tabled by my noble friend Lord Clarke, seeks to ensure that Ofcom takes into account the needs of the disabled, pensioners, those on low incomes and those living in rural areas when it carries out its primary duty to secure the universal postal service. This is a laudable aim from my noble friend and one which the Government share wholeheartedly. The wording proposed by Amendment 80 replicates Section 5(2) of the Postal Services Act 2000, which requires Ofcom to have regard to the needs of special interest groups when carrying out its duties. The Bill does not include the same wording simply because Ofcom is already required under the Communications Act 2003 to take into account the needs of the disabled, pensioners, those on low incomes and those living in rural areas. This requirement applies to all Ofcom’s functions, including its new responsibilities for the postal services. Section 3(4) of the Communications Act 2003 requires Ofcom, in performing its general duties, to have regard to the needs of persons with disabilities, the elderly and those on low incomes and to the different interests of persons in the different parts of the United Kingdom and persons living in rural and urban areas. In fact, the Communications Act 2003 goes further than Amendment 80, as it requires Ofcom to take into account and explain a wider range of interests, such as the vulnerability of children, regional differences across the UK and ethnic minorities. I therefore hope that I can reassure your Lordships that Ofcom will have to have regard to the needs of the disabled, pensioners, those on low incomes and those living in rural areas in carrying out its postal duties. There is no extra protection to be had by accepting this amendment, as it is already there in statute and, perhaps more reassuringly, already operates in practice. Amendment 86 from my noble friend deals more broadly with the needs of users in accessing the universal postal service. It relates to Clause 32 on the designated USP conditions—conditions that Ofcom can impose on the designated universal service provider to secure the provision of the universal service. Those can require the universal service provider to do a variety of things, including, ""to provide, or make arrangements for the provision of, access points for the purposes of the universal postal service"." My noble friend wishes to add to this his amendment to take into account the needs of users. I reassure noble Lords that the needs of users are at the heart of what we propose with this Bill and why we propose it. We have repeatedly argued that the universal postal service is part of the social and economic glue that binds us together as a society. It is therefore paramount that the needs of users in accessing that service are given a central place in the new regime that we are setting out. Clause 28(3) clearly provides Ofcom with a duty to, ""secure the provision of sufficient access points to meet the reasonable needs of users of the universal postal service"—" all users whom Ofcom will be required to take into account. Clause 29 then requires at least one collection from access points for letters and packets within the universal postal service order. The Bill therefore ensures reasonable access to the universal postal service. I would add that in this respect, on a practical level, the Bill mirrors the current system whereby, through its licence granted by Postcomm, Royal Mail is required to provide access points that meet the reasonable needs of users. On the broader points made by the noble Lord, Lord Hunt, and my noble friend Lord Whitty about the role of advice from the consumer panel and my noble friend’s own organisation, Consumer Focus, noble Lords can rest assured that Ofcom will be well advised by its own consumer panel—a critical friend that is within the regulator but is without it in terms of its ability to offer advice across the new extended remit—and by Consumer Focus’s broader responsibility to represent the consumer interest in these discussions. I assure my noble friend Lord Whitty that Ofcom will consult fully and in the normal manner on any changes to the universal postal service order following the general duties that apply in best regulatory practice. I hope that these comments have reassured noble Lords that the needs of users generally and the particular groups mentioned in the amendment are catered for in the Bill and that my noble friend Lord Clarke will see fit to withdraw his amendment.