Royal Mail hikes up the price of stamps
Royal Mail is to increase the price of stamps from 1st January 2021 with 1st class going up 9p to 85p and second class up 1p to 66p.
The rises were necessary to “help ensure the sustainability of the service” according to a Royal Mail Spokesman.
The Universal Service Obligation requires Royal Mail to be able to deliver to 31 million UK addresses with high costs. During the coronavirus pandemic, letter volume saw a fall of 28 per cent which had a significant impact on the finances of the Universal Service which lost £180m in the first half of the year.
Royal Mail who had not used the government furlough scheme throughout the pandemic, says the stamp prices are among the best value in Europe compared to other postage services.
Nick Landon, CCO at Royal Mail said “ Like other companies, 2020 has been a challenging year for Royal Mail as our people have worked tirelessly to keep the UK connected throughout the pandemic and associated restrictions. These price increases will help us continue to deliver and sustain the Universal Service in challenging circumstances”.