asked Her Majesty's Government:

What statutory obligations exist on the frequency with which the Royal Mail is required to deliver to premises and to collect mail from public letter boxes. [HL816]

The minimum requirements concerning collection and delivery of postal items are set out in Section 4 of the Postal Services Act 2000: for at least one collection, and one delivery each working day, save where there are exceptional circumstances.

These requirements form part of the universal service obligation which is defined by Postcomm, the postal services regulator, in consultation with users.

asked Her Majesty's Government:

On which date the Royal Mail decided to suspend Sunday collections from public letter boxes; and what consultations were held with user groups before this decision was made. [HL817]

This is an operational matter for Royal Mail. I understand that Royal Mail introduced Sunday collections in 1990 to enhance its service, but there has been very little take up from the public. Sunday postings are very low, but add a huge amount of cost to the business—up to four times more to handle these items than those collected on other days. Royal Mail has to have regard to its costs and has therefore decided to stop Sunday collections. This decision follows an application to Postcomm, the postal services regulator, and consultation with Postwatch which indicated that there was little demand for Sunday services. Sunday and Bank Holiday collections are not part of Royal Mail's universal service obligation and Postcomm has agreed to the withdrawal of the service.