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The role and effectiveness of Ofcom

Ofcom was established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. Its main duties are set out in the Communications Act 2003. The Ofcom website gives detailed information on its role. This includes regulating the UK's broadcasting and telecommunications sectors, its postal services, and online content.

Online safety

Ofcom is the online safety regulator under the Online Safety Act 2023. Ofcom's powers and duties are set out in part 7 of the act.

The act requires regulated services to implement systems and processes to keep all users safe from illegal content. It also requires services to implement systems and processes to protect the under-18s from harmful and age-inappropriate content.

Ofcom is implemeting the act in phases, as explained on its website. Full implementation is expected by mid-2027.

Ofcom's role includes issuing codes of practice setting out the measures that companies can take to comply with their duties under the act. It can also take enforcement action against non-compliant services. The enforcement powers of Ofcom include:

• imposing requirements on a service provider so that it becomes compliant with the act
• issuing financial penalties of up to £18 million or 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue (whichever is greater) for non-compliance
• applying for court orders requiring third parties to withdraw services or block access to non-compliant regulated services

For further detail on the act and Ofcom's role, see the Library briefing, The Online Safety Act 2023: An overview.

Ofcom report on content that is harmful to children (October 2026)

Section 63 of the 2023 act requires Ofcom to publish, at least every three years since the passage of the act, a report on content that is harmful to children. Ofcom’s first report (PDF) was published on 22 October 2026. This found that there had been no significant change in the proportion of children encountering harmful content since the children’s safety duties came into force in July 2025. Ofcom said this was “concerning” and that further progress was needed to protect children.

The report also noted that children continued to report that encountering harmful content negatively impacted their wellbeing, but there was no new evidence indicating a change to the severity of harm experienced through encountering this content.

For discussion of the findings, see: Online safety laws have failed to protect children in UK, Ofcom admits, The Guardian [online], 23 October 2026.

Parliamentary scrutiny of Ofcom as the online safety regulator

The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee is examining Ofcom's implementation and enforcement of the 2023 act.

Parliamentary questions and debates on Ofcom and online safety are available from this link.

Broadcasting

Ofcom regulates the UK's broadcasting sector. Broadcasters are required by the terms of their licence to comply with Ofcom’s Broadcasting Code. Ofcom can fine broadcasters for breaching the code. It can also revoke a licence.

Ofcom is the BBC's regulator. Its most recent annual report on the BBC was published in January 2026. The complaints process for BBC programmes is set out on the Ofcom website.

Information on complaints about other TV and radio programmes is also available from the Ofcom site.

Ofcom publishes details of audience complaints.

Telecommunications

Ofcom's role as the regulator for the UK's telecommunications sector covers broadband, mobile, and landline services. It has a general duty under the Communications Act 2003 section 3 to secure the wide availability of telecoms services throughout the UK. This includes by promoting competition, innovation, resilience, efficient use of spectrum, and investment in next-generation technologies (such as full fibre broadband and 5G mobile).

In carrying out these functions it must have regard to the government’s Statement of Strategic Priorities for telecommunications, the management of radio spectrum, and postal services.

The following Commons Library briefings discuss how Ofcom regulates the telecoms sector:

• Gigabit broadband in the UK discusses Ofcom’s role in encouraging the availability of full fibre broadband. This primarily involves regulating to help smaller broadband providers compete on a level playing field with Openreach, the BT-owned incumbent (see section 3.1).
• Rural mobile coverage in the UK and 5G in the UK discuss Ofcom’s role in supporting mobile coverage, including through coverage targets, coverage reporting, and spectrum auctions.
• The switch to digital landlines covers Ofcom’s role in the transition from analogue to digital landlines. Section 7 covers its rules on resilience and service provision during power cuts.
• Customer protection in the mobile and broadband markets discusses Ofcom’s customer protection rules.

Postal services

Ofcom regulates post. This includes Royal Mail and the wider parcels sector.

Regulation of Royal Mail

Royal Mail is the UK’s universal postal service provider. This means it must deliver letters to every address in the UK, six days a week, at a uniform price, and parcels five days a week.

Royal Mail’s performance is measured against quality of service targets, for example for speed of deliveries. Most of these targets are not being achieved, although performance has recently improved for some. Ofcom fined Royal Mail for its performance in each year from 2022/23 to 2024/25 and opened an investigation into performance in 2025/26.

In July 2025, Ofcom announced changes including allowing Royal Mail to deliver second class letters on alternate weekdays (but still within three working days of collection), and not on Saturdays. Royal Mail is now rolling out a new delivery model with second-class letters delivered on alternate weekdays in certain areas. It has published a Quality of Service Improvement Plan, and says it anticipates meeting its regulated quality of service targets by April 2027.

Ofcom has said that it is “imperative that the company turns round its performance if it is to rebuild the trust of the public” and that it “will continue to hold [Royal Mail] to account for its unacceptable performance to date”. It says it will monitor progress closely and “continue to use the full range of our powers to secure a universal service that delivers the standard of quality consumers expect”.

For more information see the Library briefing on Royal Mail performance.

Regulation of the wider parcels sector

Problems with parcels are reasonably common. When asked in 2026, 71% of people said they had experienced an issue with deliveries in the previous six months.

Ofcom reviewed postal services in 2022. Following the review, it introduced new guidance on handling complaints and the requirement for companies to have policies on treating disabled customers fairly.

In October 2026, Ofcom said that, while improvements have been made by parcel operators following the 2022 review, they are “concerned that there are still a significant number of customers experiencing issues, and that parcels operators can, and should, do more”. They are “considering further action to ensure customers are adequately protected, including whether strengthened regulation is needed”.

In February 2026, the government said that “some delivery companies need to do more to meet the rightful expectations of customers”. It pointed to Ofcom as the (operationally independent) regulator for the postal sector, saying that Ofcom would consider enforcement action and additional regulations to help protect customers from underperforming parcel operators.

For more information see the Library briefing on Problems with parcel deliveries.

Parliamentary scrutiny of Ofcom and post

In May 2026, the Business and Trade committee published a report on The regulation of postal services. The committee concluded that “Ofcom needs to reset its approach to regulating of postal services”. It said Ofcom should produce a roadmap for improved regulation and set out any powers it needs beyond those it currently has. 

In July 2026, the committee published a letter setting out Ofcom’s response, in which Ofcom pointed to action it and Royal Mail is taking.

The committee published the government’s response in October 2026. The government pointed to its July 2026 Regulator Sponsorship Charter “which reaffirms our mandate to set strategic steers for regulators”. It said that it “will actively hold Ofcom and other regulators to account, as appropriate, while preserving their statutory operational independence”.

See the links for debates, statements and urgent questions on postal services and Ofcom since the 2024 election and for questions on Ofcom and postal services that have been asked in Parliament.

Further reading

• Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, The work of Ofcom, 20 October 2026
• Ofcom, Annual report and accounts 2025-26, July 2026
• Ofcom, Key performance indicators 2025-26, July 2026