Royal Mail set to ditch second class Saturday deliveries

30 January 2025, 09:19 | Updated: 30 January 2025, 09:24

Royal Mail is to be allowed to ditch second class deliveries
Royal Mail is to be allowed to ditch second class deliveries. Picture: Alamy

By StephenRigley

Royal Mail is set to be allowed to ditch Saturday deliveries for second class letters under plans being put forward by Ofcom.

Listen to this article

Loading audio...

The regulator said that after a consultation, it had provisionally concluded that reducing the second class letter service to alternate weekdays, while keeping first class deliveries six days a week, would continue to meet postal users' needs.

The watchdog also outlined plans to cut Royal Mail's delivery targets, for first class mail from 93% to 90% delivered the next day, and for second class mail from 98.5% to 95% delivered within three days.

Ofcom announces postal service reforms

Read More: Royal Mail sees parcel boost over Christmas as £3.6bn takeover nears completion

Read More: Post Office cuts 100 jobs as part of plans to add £250m to subpostmaster pay after Horizon scandal

This will bring them more in line with other international and European markets, it added.

Natalie Black, Ofcom's group director for networks and communications, said: "The world has changed - we're sending a third of the letters we were 20 years ago.

"We need to reform the postal service to protect its future and ensure it delivers for the whole of the UK.

"But we're safeguarding what matters most to people - first class mail six days a week at the same price throughout the UK, and a price cap on second class stamps."

More Latest News

See more More Latest News

Breaking
The fire broke out at a school in west London

Fire at west London school, as pupils evacuated and dozens of firefighters rush to tackle blaze

Justice Dept Finds FBI Abuse Of Patriot Act Provision

Three Brits charged with making hoax ‘swat’ calls to US and Canadian police after FBI investigation

Thousands of food lovers have been drawn to the iconic Brompton Road store after several items from the hall went viral on TikTok and Instagram

Harrods bans people from eating in its Food Hall after TikTokkers flood the store to film content

Katy Perry

Cry about it later: Katy Perry reveals she was left 'battered and bruised' after space trip

Co-op has been hit by a cyber attack

Co-op hit by cyber attack just days after 'devastating' attack on Marks & Spencer linked to 'teenage hacking group'

Themistockli mugshot and CCTV footage

Watch: Moment brazen thief steals thousands of pounds of luxury perfume

Kate Middleton and Prince William are currently enjoying a brief trip to the Scottish Isles

Kate Middleton's sweet sentiment for her children while on royal duties in the Scottish Isles

The Marks & Spencer logo is displayed outside its stores.

Police investigate Marks & Spencer cyber attack - as chaos left shelves bare and online sales halted

Exterior of New York Stock Exchange Building with classical architecture of Greece columns and US flags as seen during the day, NYSE Financial organization at Wall Street

US economy shrank 0.3% during first three months of 2025 - as imports surge ahead of Trump tariffs

The moment the two friends allegedly chop down the tree

Night-time video shows the moment two friends allegedly chop down iconic Sycamore Gap tree with a chainsaw

Richard Burrows, 81, systematically abused 24 boys across the Cheshire, West Midlands and West Mercia areas between 1968 and 1995.

Paedophile scout leader who spent 27 years on the run jailed for 46 years for dozens of child sex abuse offences

Mosquera is accused of murdering the couple

Adult star 'decapitated and cut up couple' before 'dumping remains off Clifton Suspension Bridge'

Marks and Spencer has still paused all online transactions following cyber attack

When will M&S be back online? Everything we know about the cyber attack so far

China has hit out at the US in a propaganda video

China slams Trump's US as a 'small, stranded boat' and vows not to 'kneel down to bullying' in propaganda video

'Battle lines are drawn': Virginia Giuffre's family release heartbreaking final letter following death of Epstein abuse survivor

'Battle lines are drawn': Virginia Giuffre's family release heartbreaking final letter following death of Epstein abuse survivor

Gillian Anderson has broken her silence on X-Files return

The truth is out there! Gillian Anderson confirms she has spoken to director about X-Files reboot