Postcomm consults on new European Postal Services Directive
4 September 2002
Postcomm today began consulting on how the recently agreed European Directive on postal services should be implemented in the UK and, in particular its impact on the UK licensing regime.
The Directive reduces the part of the postal market that can be reserved to national monopoly postal operators from 350 grams to post weighing less than 100g from 1 January 2003 and 50g from 1 January 2006.
In the UK under the Postal Services Act 2000, Postcomm licences all operators providing postal services for mail weighing less than 350g or costing less than £1. In the light of the new Directive, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has asked Postcomm to advise on how best to implement the Directive and, in particular, whether the UK’s licensed area should be reduced in step with the new weight thresholds, or whether it should stay at the present 350g.
In the document Postcomm says it favours leaving the upper limit for the licensed area at 350g, but with ‘light touch’ regulation consistent with the Directive, for postal operators conveying mail between 100g and 350g next year and between 50g and 350g from 2006. This means that there would be no restrictions on the nature of services to be provided within these weight limits.
Postcomm points out that mail up to 350g accounts for virtually the whole of the UK letters market. Retaining licensing at this level would mean that postal operators would be subject to a common set of regulatory requirements which would be applied fairly and uniformly to virtually all market participants. This would best safeguard the universal service and benefit postal users.
Notes for Editors
The Postal Services Directive 2002/39/EC was adopted on 8 May 2002 and introduced on 10 June 2002. The Directive amends Directive 97/67/EC with regard to the further opening of competition in Community postal services. Member States are required to implement the Directive by 1 January 2003.
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry is responsible for implementing the new Directive in the UK but as the Directive affects the regulatory regime under which Postcomm operates, she has asked Postcomm to carry out the necessary consultations and to provide her with advice on how best to implement the Directive’s provisions.
Postcomm has identified four options for implementation, all of which would require some amendment to the existing statutory regime. Although the UK licensing limit is currently the same as the reserved services limit, there is no need for them to be the same. The Directive enables Member States to issue individual licences for “non-reserved services” provided these fall within the scope of the universal service. A number of other Member States have set up licensing regimes.
In addition to the weight limits there are corresponding monetary limits calculated by reference to the price of the basic weight step of the fastest category of the universal postal service (in the UK this taken as first class post). In the UK the monetary limit is currently £1 and under the Directive this reduces to 3 times on 1 January 2003 and 2.5 times on 1 January 2006. The document proposes that these limits in the UK should be 80p and 65p respectively.
The Directive will also require other – relatively minor - changes to the regulatory regime which Postcomm proposes should be achieved mainly by making small changes to the licence issued in March 2001 to Consignia plc, the provider of the UK’s universal postal service.
The consultation document, Implementation of the European Directive on Postal Services in the UK, is available from Postcomm at 6 Hercules Road, London SE1 7DB. Responses are requested by 31 October 2002.
