RECOGNISING THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR POSTAL WORKERS AT ROYAL MAIL

It was a pleasure this week to celebrate all the hard work of our postal workers who deliver our mail day in day out in all weathers. The role of Royal Mail continues to evolve and hoards of scam letters are being seized by Royal Mail before reaching the letterboxes of vulnerable potential victims of scams. Changes made by the service means three million such items of mail have been halted in just over a year. Fake lotteries and bogus clairvoyants have used mass mail drops in the past in which people have lost tens of thousands of pounds to these postal scammers. Royal Mail staff are now trained to spot potential scam letters, and a series of new initiatives - including an industry-wide code of practice - have been launched since 2016. Changes to terms and conditions governing bulk mail contracts in March 2017 means Royal Mail is able to follow up on solid intelligence by refusing to carry mail suspected to be fraudulent. Royal Mail staff do not always get the recognition and appreciation they deserve. That is why I was delighted to attend this reception to thank those who work in this important service, for all that they do.