Maria Caulfield, Member of Parliament for Lewes, met with representatives from Royal Mail on Monday to discuss the ongoing issues residents have faced with delays to mail deliveries.
The Lewes MP had been asking for several weeks for a meeting with Royal Mail and after not receiving a satisfactory response raised it with the Minister responsible for Postal Services who said that he would ensure that a meeting would be arranged.
On confirmation of the meeting, Maria invited other Sussex MP’s to attend so that they could all raise concerns about the issues in their constituencies with mail.
The meeting was held on Monday 29th January with several Sussex MP’s attending and representatives from Royal Mail including the Regional Operations Director, John Doyle.
Maria Caulfield held Royal Mail to account at the meeting, telling them how unacceptable their service has been and informed them of the experience of her constituents who have missed medical appointment letters and other urgent letters due to delays.
Maria also raised the issue of opening hours for the sorting offices, asking that these be extended to allow people to attend outside of working hours. The MP also asked for more delivery vans to be diverted from parcels to letter deliveries.
Royal Mail stated that the delays have been a result of staff shortages, including a high degree of sickness and an aging workforce. They confirmed that they have recently ended their recruitment freeze and so more posties are working now so residents should start seeing improvements. They have also started hiring more vans so that posties, particularly in rural parts, should again notice the difference.
Commenting on the meeting, Maria Caulfield MP said:
“I am glad that Royal Mail have come to parliament to hear from myself and other Sussex MP’s about the affect of their service on our constituents, I will continue to hold Royal Mail to account on this issue until we see a marked improvement in the service to our residents. I want to thank all our posties for the work they do everyday and I hope these improvements make their job a little easier."