Royal Mail could be allowed to end the delivery of second class letters on Saturdays, as part of some new reforms.

Regulator Ofcom has been consulting on the future of the universal postal service since January and is focusing efforts on changes to the second-class service.

Under the plans being considered, second-class deliveries would not be made on Saturdays and would only be on alternate weekdays, but delivery times would remain unchanged at up to three working days.

Ofcom said no decision had been made yet and it continues to review the changes, with aims to publish a consultation in early 2025 and make a decision in the summer of next year.

At the moment, Royal Mail is required by law to deliver letters six days a week and parcels five days a week, BBC News reports.

The number of letters sent through the post has been falling steadily for years while parcel volumes have grown, leading to losses at the service.

"Change cannot come soon enough"

Royal Mail owner International Distribution Services (IDS), which agreed a £3.57 billion takeover by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky in May, said “change cannot come soon enough” to the UK’s postal service.

Martin Seidenberg, group chief executive of IDS, 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.

“It can be achieved through regulatory change with no need for new legislation.

“The universal service faces a very real and urgent financial sustainability challenge.”

Meanwhile, Lindsey Fussell, Ofcom’s group director for networks and communications, said: “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.

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“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.”

Royal Mail said its proposals earlier this year to reduce all non-first-class letter deliveries – including second class and bulk business mail – would save it up to £300 million a year.

The group also said its plans would lead to “fewer than 1,000” voluntary redundancies with daily delivery routes cut by between 7,000-9,000 within two years.