Royal Mail has been hit with a whopping £5.6 million fine for failing to meet its delivery targets, it has been confirmed.
It comes following the completion of an Ofcom enforcement investigation.
The industry regulator was asked to investigate the country’s national postal service after it was referred by the Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee – which is a cross-parliamentary committee made up of MPs nationwide – back in March for a suspected breach of the universal service obligation (USO) requiring the company to deliver letters six days a week.
The committee said Royal Mail had “systematically failed” in its duty to deliver letters, and claimed to find the company had prioritised more lucrative parcels instead.
🚨 We have fined Royal Mail £5.6m for failing to meet its 2022/23 delivery targets by a significant and unexplained margin.
Delays caused considerable harm to customers, and we found insufficient steps were taken to prevent this failure.
Royal Mail is required to deliver 93% of first class mail within one working day, and 98.5% of second class items within three working days, while its target for completion of delivery routes is 99.9%.
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But following the investigation, Ofcom said that, for the 2022-23 financial year, the postal service’s reported performance results showed that it had only delivered 73.7% of first-class mail on time, and just 90.7% of second-class mail.
On top of this, the investigation found that only 89.35% of delivery routes were completed for each day on which a delivery was required.
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Ofcom said today’s fine of £5.6 million should serve as “a wake up call” for the company, and it must “take its responsibilities more seriously”, rather than relying on shifting the blame for its failures on to the aftermath of the pandemic and the several days of strike action by the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) several strikes in 2022.
Royal Mail has been fined £5.6m for failing to meet delivery targets / Credit: Royal Mail
Ian Strawhorne, who is the Director of Enforcement of Ofcom, said in a statement today: “Royal Mail’s role in our lives carries huge responsibility and we know from our research that customers value reliability and consistency.
“Clearly, the pandemic had a significant impact on Royal Mail’s operations in previous years. But we warned the company it could no longer use that as an excuse, and it just hasn’t got things back on track since.
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“The company’s let consumers down, and today’s fine should act as a wake-up call – it must take its responsibilities more seriously.
“We’ll continue to hold Royal Mail to account to make sure it improves service levels.”
The committee’s inquiry took place amid a turbulent time for the Royal Mail when 112,000 of its staff -who were members of Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) – staged “the biggest strike of the summer” and several other subsequent walk-outs last year in a still-ongoing dispute over pay and the company’s modernisation plans.
The fine has been issued following an Ofcom investigation / Credit: Royal Mail
Addressing the issuing of the fine this morning, a Royal Mail spokesperson described the last year as “uniquely challenging” for the postal service, before going on to cite the strike action as being a reason for quality of service being impacted.
“We are very disappointed with our Quality of Service performance in 2022-23, and acknowledge Ofcom’s decision today,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
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“Last year was uniquely challenging for Royal Mail. Quality of service was materially impacted by the long-running industrial dispute which included 18 days of strike action. We are pleased that Ofcom has acknowledged that elements outside of Royal Mail’s control had a significant impact on service levels and has adjusted the figures to 82% for first class and 95.5% for second class mail.
“We take our commitment to delivering a high level of service seriously and are taking action to introduce measures to restore quality of service to the level our customers expect.”
Featured Image – Royal Mail
News
Dame Sarah Storey is going on Strictly Come Dancing 2026
Danny Jones
Record-breaking local athlete and Paralympian, Dame Sarah Storey, is set to become the latest to join the Strictly Come Dancing annals.
With the Strictly cast for 2026 steadily being unveiled, we always keep an eye out for the Greater Manchester names in particular.
That being said, we’re buzzing to see the hugely successful Stockport swimmer turned cyclist will be swapping her Team GB kit for sparkly, sequined ballroom gowns and an entirely different type of sport and fitness.
Announced on Friday, 17 July, Storey is the seventh celebrity to be confirmed for the 24th series of the hit BBC show and dancing competition.
Having represented her country not only at nine Paralympics but across two different disciplines after switching to the racing bike back in 2005, she’s our most decorated competitor in the entire history of the Games with 30 medals to her name – 19 of which are gold.
Absolute GOAT levels.
But now the Cheadle Hulme-born is once again set to show her versatility to see how she fares on the dance floor later this year.
Commenting ahead of the new-look season which starts this September, the 48-year-old said: “Embarking on a new challenge so soon after stepping down as an athlete is hugely exciting.
“I have always loved watching Strictly, and my daughter Louisa is a very talented dancer, so to be able to learn from the best and hopefully understand even more about her world is incredibly motivating! I can’t wait to get started!”
This latest sea-change comes not long after the local legend and sporting icon officially announced her retirement from professional sport more than three decades on from first bursting onto the scene.
Thank you for taking the time to leave all the incredible messages. It’s so wonderful to read them and thank you for being the greatest supporters 🥰
— Dame Sarah Storey (@DameSarahStorey) July 9, 2026
What a career she’s had; it obviously didn’t take her long to get tired of sitting still for once, either.
She will be joined by the likes of Lacey Turner, Dani Dyer, Delta Goodrem, Chris Appleton, Cach Mercer and Will Best.
In case you missed it, the upcoming edition of Strictly Come Dancing will be the first since Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman stepped down, with Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and pro dancer Johannes Radebe stepping in as replacements.
In other starring Stockport news, we’ve finally got more info on the final season of a popular programme filmed in the area. Find out more down below.
Two more people arrested as investigation into Dovestone Reservoir moorland fire continues
Emily Sergeant
Two more people have been arrested as part of the ongoing investigation into the devastating moorland fire near Dovestone Reservoir.
Yesterday (16 July 2026), a 19-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of arson and has been bailed pending further police enquiries, before a man in his 20s has today (17 July) been arrested on suspicion of arson, and remains in custody for questioning.
These follow the arrest and subsequent charging of 20-year-old Shania Care-Slede, from Hyde.
Care-Slede has been charged with aggravated arson, being reckless as to whether life was endangered, and dangerous driving, and was remanded in custody before appearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court this past Tuesday (14 July).
After the blaze broke out this past Saturday evening (11 July) at the popular beauty spot in Oldham, prompting a major multi-agency response, fire crews from Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) have been working around the clock in challenging conditions to contain the fire and prevent further spread across the moorland.
Specialist wildfire resources, command support units, drone technology, and partner agencies have also been deployed as operations continue across multiple sectors of the incident.
To make matters worse, ‘strong’ winds carried smoke across parts of Greater Manchester – with reports of haze and the smell of burning being received from areas well beyond the immediate vicinity of the fire.
With three major arrests having already now been made, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) says its officers are continuing to pursue a number of lines of enquiry and are seeking to identify any other individuals who may have been involved.
“This investigation has been progressing at pace, we are nearly a week on and the fire at Dovestones is still ongoing, and it has had devastating effects it has had on the Reservoir,” commented Detective Inspector Andrew Day, of GMP’s Oldham division said.
“As this incident continues, officers would like to thank all emergency service partners for their support and dedication.
“In particular, our colleagues at Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, whose firefighters have spent countless hours tackling the fire in demanding conditions.”
Emily Sergeant -
13th November 2023 
