Royal Mail fails to hit first-class delivery target in every UK area

One-third of letters in some parts of the country don’t arrive the next day – despite the rise in stamp prices

Royal Mail failed in the year to September to hit its target for next-day delivery of first-class mail in every single area of United Kingdom, an analysis of performance figures by the Observer reveals.

Performance results for more than 120 postal areas in the UK show that none hit the target for 93% of first-class mail to be delivered within one working day. Royal Mail has already been fined £5.6m by the regulator, Ofcom, for failing to hit its first- and second-class targets in the 2022-23 financial year.