Reading MPs Demand Answers from Royal Mail

Reading's three MPs have written an open letter to Royal Mail after residents complained about missed post and delayed deliveries.

The letter, from Matt Rodda (Reading Central), Olivia Bailey (Reading West & Mid Berkshire) and Yuan Yang (Earley and Woodley), says:

"We have had several constituents write to us with concerns regarding their Royal Mail Service and our caseworkers have written to you respectively on behalf of these constituents.

"We have been told that it is common for constituents to get all post once a week rather than regular deliveries, with some reporting they are receiving post fortnightly.

"Many constituents report that they have missed long-awaited health appointments due to the delays. Some constituents are under the impression that staff have been diverted to provide attention to parcels, which is concerning to us.

"Please can you clarify the current operational issues faced and provide reassurance, with timescales, as to when normal regular postal services will resume for those across our constituencies?

"We look forward to hearing from you and thank you in anticipation."

Delivery offices are in Gillette Way, Whitley; Loverock Road, West Reading; and Suttons Business Park, Earley.

A Royal Mail spokesperson acknowledged the letter and said:

"We know how important it is that customers receive their mail when expected, particularly important items such as hospital appointments.

"We would reassure customers that mail continues to be delivered across Reading every day.

"Where a short-term local issue affects an individual route, our teams work to deliver any outstanding mail as quickly as possible.

"Our latest published results show that performance in Reading is improving. First Class performance has risen from 75.4 per cent delivered the next working day at the end of the last financial year to 83.4 per cent in our latest results.

"Across all letter products, 93 per cent of letters are delivered on time and more than 99 per cent within a week.

"We know there is more to do and are investing £500 million over five years to improve reliability.

"We are making significant changes across our network, including rolling out our new delivery model across all 1,200 delivery offices, which will help provide a more reliable and consistent service for customers across the UK."

James Aldridge, Local Democracy Reporter