Postal Services Bill, second reading
28 October 2010 (updated on 28 October 2010)
Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Vince Cable, introduced the second reading of the Postal Services Bill in the House of Commons on Wednesday 27 October
- Video and Audio: Postal Services Bill, second reading
- Commons Hansard: Postal Services Bill, second reading
- Bills before Parliament: Postal Services Bill
- About Parliament: Passage of a Bill
Summary of the Bill
The Bill's provisions are divided into four main parts.
- Part 1 provides for the restructuring of Royal Mail, including the introduction of private sector capital and expertise from the sale of up to 90% of Royal Mail, an employee share scheme and provisions for Post Office Ltd to continue to be owned by the Crown or a mutual ownership structure
- Part 2 deals with the Royal Mail’s pension deficit by transferring the historic liabilities of the scheme to the Government
- Part 3 makes provisions for the regulatory arrangements for postal services through the transfer of powers from Postcomm to Ofcom
- Part 4 contains provisions for a “special administrative regime” should the universal postal service be at risk from the provider entering insolvency proceedings.