The Rev John Owen and postman John Luker at the postbox opposite Froxfield Church

A HAMPSHIRE vicar has predicted rural postal services could be decimated if the privatisation of the Royal Mail goes ahead.

The Rev John Owen, who is vicar of the three villages of Froxfield, Steep and Privett, near Petersfield, said it could be a real blow to rural communities.

He used the example of his local postman, John Luker, who has collected and delivered letters in the villages between Petersfield and Alton for 32 years.

“John knows the local roads like the back of his hand. He doesn’t use a SatNav, never gets lost, and knows a good many of the 800 inhabitants of Froxfield and Privett by name,” said the vicar. “If something is amiss, John is likely to notice it on his delivery round and will raise the alarm.

“We wonder how economically viable his job will be when the flotation of the Royal Mail takes place. We want to believe official assurances that a daily collection and delivery will continue in these hamlets, but we are sceptical. Our suspicion is that there might be a weekly collection or delivery service, and that our villagers will have to drive into a town like Petersfield to post urgent items.

“And can you imagine the time, energy and carbon emissions that will be spent by a range of competing postal firms criss-crossing the area, getting lost in unfamiliar country lanes, each delivering a tiny handful of post to each village? The expertise built up by our regular Royal Mail postmen will be dissipated for no good reason.

“John Luker represents that bit of community capital and cohesion which does so much for the well-being of the rural community. He’s not unlike the landlord of the local pub and the people who have been running the village shop for years. They help to bind the community together. 

“The usual answer given about the reduction in bus services, or the closure of pubs or post offices is that these things have to be paid for, and where there is no market, there can be no survival. End of discussion.

“But in the countryside especially, the failure of the market has big repercussions. You can’t quantify what the postman, the pub and the village shop do for their communities. But when they are gone, the community is the poorer, the countryside emptier and its attractiveness as a place to live is diminished.

“As Christians, we are aware that life can’t be quantified in a balance sheet. Our church members will be challenging this thinking and finding new ways to serve their rural communities – churches hosting post offices is just one way they are already helping. But my plea would be for us to hold back from privatisation of the Royal Mail until these issues have been thought through properly.”

And John Luker agreed. He said: “I have 283 calls to do, and drive about 36 miles a day from our office in Petersfield. I know any private firm wouldn’t have the same kind of local knowledge that I have. I love these villages and I know about 90 per cent of the people who live here, by sight or by their Christian names. It will be hard to replace that.”

We have received the following response from the Royal Mail in answer to these concerns:

Steve Selby, Royal Mail Delivery Direector for the Guildford area

Royal Mail Privatisation

Privatisation is an important step for Royal Mail.  It is also important for our customers, both individuals and businesses.

To understand why now is the right time for Royal Mail to move into private ownership, it is important to understand the way the postal market has changed. While letter volumes are in decline, Britain’s online retailing boom is driving strong growth in the parcels market. Around half of Royal Mail’s revenues now come from our expanding UK and international parcels businesses. Alongside this, many of our competitors are successful, privately-owned global players who have been able to invest to modernise their operations and capture growth in high-growth markets such as parcels.

We have made significant strides in becoming a successful commercial company in recent years. Last year, in contrast to three years ago, we reported profits in our core UK business rather than losses and we generated cash rather than having to borrow. The transformation of Royal Mail is underway; but it’s by no means complete.

The UK Government has acknowledged it has not been a good owner of large businesses. Private ownership will enable Royal Mail to become more flexible and fleet of foot in the fiercely competitive markets in which we operate and seize the opportunities available to us. Some of our competitors are privately owned and can invest when they need to. Like them, we need to access to long-term capital from time to time to invest in our business. The UK Government has made clear it doesn’t have the money to allocate to Royal Mail ahead of schools and hospitals.

I have heard some people say that the service we provide rural communities will reduce. I want to assure all our customers that the six-day-a-week, one-price-goes-anywhere, affordable universal postal service will remain unchanged. I also want to offer this reassurance to our small and large business customers. We make commerce happen by connecting companies, customers and communities across the UK, our aim is to continue this through our universal service.  It is also protected by law – enshrined in the Postal Services Act 2011. Any change would have to be passed through an affirmative vote in both Houses of Parliament. 

We believe we can combine the best of the public and private sectors. Our customer service will be a competitive advantage in the private sector. The Quality of Service regime that applies to Royal Mail under public ownership will continue to apply under private ownership. Ofcom has already specified the minimum standards under regulation.

Royal Mail offers good value for money. That will not change. UK stamp prices are among the best value in the EU. In five of the six weight steps for First Class and Second Class mail, the cost of UK stamps is ranked in the bottom half of prices when compared with other European countries. Affordable prices are protected in legislation and regulation.

Our people are at the heart of Royal Mail.  The current position is that all terms and conditions that apply to Royal Mail employees now would remain in place, on the same basis, were the company sold.  To provide further reassurance, we want to create a legally-binding and enforceable contract with the Communication Workers Union. Pay and protections could not be changed for the period of the contract without CWU agreement.

The Company will continue to have a predominantly full-time workforce on an overall national basis, as per our current agreements with the CWU.

Our existing enhanced voluntary redundancy terms have been extended for the life of our modernisation programme. Our commitment to managing change without recourse to compulsory redundancy will remain in place.

In addition, approximately 150,000 eligible UK employees, including employees working in Parcelforce Worldwide will receive free shares giving them a combined 10 per cent stake in the business. This is the largest free stake of any major UK privatisation for nearly 30 years.

The Government intends to award the Free Shares under a tax-advantaged Share Incentive Plan. Eligible employees will automatically receive an equal number of shares, irrespective of their grade. There will be a pro-rata allocation for part-time employees.

Many previously Government-owned companies - like Rolls Royce and British Airways - have flourished under private ownership. We believe privatisation will equip Royal Mail for similar success.