Royal Mail is currently undertaking a consultation regarding changes to its ‘Royal Mail Scheme’ - the ‘Scheme’ details terms and conditions of some of their services. A wide number of changes are captured in the consultation, one of which will, if it proceeds, affect postal services to and from the Isle of Man.
Further to our recent statement regarding the current Royal Mail Consultation, we received a response providing clarity regarding key areas of the consultation.
Firstly, we asked Royal Mail to confirm its intention that provision for mail between the Isle of Man and UK continues to fall within the ‘UK Scheme’, and not the ‘Overseas Scheme’. The purpose of this question was to obtain assurance of Royal Mail’s intention, that mail posted between the Isle of Man and UK will continue to be treated as ‘domestic’ and not international, which may otherwise impose certain cost and compliance implications. Royal Mail confirmed that:
"The consultation closes on 2 June and [we] would not want to pre-empt the outcome of the consultation or any decisions we may take with regards to the flight jointly. However, we have drafted the changes to the UK Post Scheme in such a way to allow for mail posted in the UK for delivery in Jersey, Guernsey, and Isle of Man (the three islands), and for mail posted in the three islands for delivery in the UK to continue to be governed by the UK Post Scheme".
Secondly, we asked Royal Mail to clarify that their proposal is to add an additional working day for delivery of mail both to and from the UK (regarding the Isle of Man). This is important in relation to compensation claims for guaranteed services. Royal Mail responded that
"In drafting changes to the Overseas Post Scheme, and in particular the change to Due Date, we were of the opinion that no further change was needed to the definition of a Working Day. In light of a possible ambiguity that you have highlighted in your letter, we will further review the Scheme to consider whether we need to make changes to address this point".
We will continue to update this page, and notify customers who have signed up to our mailing list of any of any further developments. To sign up to our mailing list please complete the form below.
Royal Mail with Jersey Post are exploring the implications of changing the way items are moved from a flight to a ferry. This is in the context of rapidly declining letters volumes and would provide an opportunity to jointly reduce costs, while demonstrating commitment to minimising impact on the environment. If Royal Mail implements the proposed changes, Isle of Man Post Office will review the aircraft transfer of mail to the UK, and consider the potential for transfer via sea instead.
UK postal services are licenced by OFCOM, the UK communications regulator. As the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey are outside of the UK, the three territories are out of scope of OFCOM’s ‘Designated Universal Service condition’, which includes a requirement for Royal Mail to provide a next day delivery service to every address across the UK. Royal Mail is proposing to remove the three territories from the ‘Scheme’ which are currently referenced, so that the definition of ‘Due Date’ (for delivery) no longer applies to these territories.
Royal Mail has published details of its consultation via a link available within the following page on its website: Royal Mail Wholesale - Consultation on changes to the Postal Schemes.
Since being notified of the consultation, Isle of Man Post Office has sought further information from Royal Mail to better understand the implications for postal services to and from the Island. We expect to receive this information shortly, and will share it with customers on this page. We will notify customers who have signed up to our mailing list as soon as this information is available. You can sign up to receive this updates about our services using the sign up form below
Customers may wish to review the consultation and submit their response via Royal Mail’s portal, available at the above link. The consultation will close at 1700hrs on Friday 2nd June 2023.
Isle of Man Post Office is a self-funded Statutory Board of Isle of Man Government, and works with delivery partners including Royal Mail to provide postal services to and from the Isle of Man.