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Postal Services Bill [HL]

Our amendment explores the situations when a general access condition might be imposed. It appears from conversations with Ofcom that it envisages such a condition being imposed in two circumstances. The first is when it wishes to impose an access condition on the universal service provider, but in relation to services that fall outside the universal postal service. The second is when another postal operator has developed a dominant network in an area—perhaps a certain city—to such an extent that it is pushing out the universal service provider’s network. In both these circumstances, the operator on whom the condition is being imposed would have to have built up significant market power. It is hard to imagine it ever being desirable to insist that a small operator—perhaps one that has created a niche market by investing in a highly specialised network—give access to another. My amendment, therefore, would ensure that the access condition would not be imposed on an inappropriately small operator. I beg to move.