Highland mail deliveries 'down to once a week', councillors warn

Councillors in the Highlands say household postal deliveries in many parts of the region have dropped to as little as once a week.

A group of nine councillors has tabled a motion for Thursday's full meeting of Highland Council, calling on the authority to raise their concerns directly with Royal Mail bosses.

'Extremely serious' consequences

The motion says postal deliveries in many parts of the Highlands are now infrequent, and warns that the consequences can be extremely serious. It lists missed medical appointments and late letters from banks and solicitors, as well as personal cards and letters from family arriving late.

The councillors say Royal Mail still provides a vital service to Highland households, many of which are in remote and rural areas.

Royal Mail's response

Royal Mail said it understood how important deliveries were to people and businesses in the Highlands and took concerns about delays seriously. It said it would be happy to respond directly to any concerns raised by the council.

The company said its latest figures showed performance was improving. In the Inverness postcode area, which covers much of the Highland Council area, first class next-day delivery rose from 78.4% to 82.8% in the latest quarter.

It said the Highlands included some of the most geographically challenging delivery routes in the UK, and that mail was still delivered across the region every day, although individual routes could be affected by short-term local issues.

Staffing pressures

Last month, Royal Mail said it was recruiting to fill 12 vacancies at its Inverness delivery office.

Earlier this month, the Communication Workers Union claimed more postal staff had been leaving Royal Mail since the company introduced a new delivery system this year. Royal Mail said the changes were part of plans to make the service more efficient and financially sustainable.