Royal Mail set to scrap deliveries on Saturdays under new proposals

As part of this proposal, second class postal delivery times would remain unchanged at three working days, while first class post will remain to be a six-day-a-week service.

According to Ofcom, no final decision has been made and it is in the process of reviewing any potential changes.

It aims to publish a consultation into its findings by early 2025 with a decision to be made by the summer of that year.

Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom’s group director for networks and communications, cited that users of the postal service will be at "the heart of the review".

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She explained: "If we decide to propose changes to the universal service next year, we want to make sure we achieve the best outcome for consumers.

“So we’re now looking at whether we can get the universal service back on an even keel in a way that meets people’s needs.

“But this won’t be a free pass for Royal Mail – under any scenario, it must invest in its network, become more efficient and improve its service levels.”

This latest development comes after Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services (IDS) agreed a £3.57billion takeover Daniel Kretinsky in May,

The Czech billionaire asserted that “change cannot come soon enough” to the UK’s postal service.

In April, Royal Mail put forward a proposal to axe Saturday second class post deliveries in its submission to the regulator in April.

Furthermore, it recommended cutting the delivery service to every other weekday.

Martin Seidenberg, group chief executive of IDS, outlined why a change to Royal Mail's business model is essential to users.

He said: "Our proposal for the future of the universal service has been developed after speaking to thousands of people across the country, and is designed to protect what matters most for customers."

Previously, the tycoon has promised to maintain a quality delivery service despite changes to the business.

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Kretinsky said: "As long as I’m alive, I completely exclude this, and I’m sure that anybody that would be my successor would absolutely understand this.

"I say this as an absolutely clear, unconditional commitment: Royal Mail is going to be the provider of Universal Service Obligation in the UK, I would say forever, as long as the service is going to be needed, and as long as we are going to be around."

IDS has floated reforms to the delivery system, which it estimates could result in the reduction of about 7,000 to 9,000 daily delivery routes and up to 1,000 voluntary redundancies.