First class delivery for mail in Shropshire, say figures

The service aims to deliver 93 per cent of all first class post by the next working day.

People with a TF post code have seen a 1.7 per cent increase in on-time delivered mail, reaching a level of 95.2 per cent.

Residents with an SY post code saw a 1.9 per cent improvement, with 94.3 per cent seeing next day deliveries for the first quarter of the year, covering March 30 to June 28.

Royal Mail said it also exceeded its second class mail target of 98.5 per cent nationally, delivering 99 per cent within three working days.

Over the border, Worcester was one of the few areas to see first class deliveries drop below the national target, falling by 2.1 per cent to 91 per cent over all.

The company's "quality of service" is measured by TNS Global, an independent market research company, and can be viewed online.

Geoff Braden, Royal Mail's operations director, said postmen and women worked extremely hard to deliver to some of the most demanding standards in the whole of Europe.

He said: "We remain the only UK delivery company to publish our quality of service and we are proud to do so.

"We are more focused than ever on continuously improving and maintaining high standards of service for our customers."

The figures come as the Government looks to shed its remaining 30 per cent stake in Royal Mail. The delivery figures are also tempered by the fact that early morning deliveries are no longer guaranteed, and some collection times at postboxes have been put back.

Telford & Wrekin councillor Peter Scott, who is campaigning for a new Royal Mail collection point for Newport, which has TF post codes, said it was pleasing to see the figures improving.

But he said the service could still improve in other areas, such making it more clear the alternative ways customers can get missed parcels and letters redelivered.

He said: "If the Royal Mail is improving then that has to be a good thing. I appreciate they also have other systems in place for redelivering parcels but my campaign is simply reacting to concerns of other people, where residents still have to travel from Newport to Oakengates if they miss certain post.

"The latest figures are very good in themselves but the Royal Mail is very slow at responding to other concerns.

"I realise there are alternatives but it needs to be made clear because a lot of people are not aware of them.

"We're not asking for miracles just a workable way of stopping residents travelling all the way to Oakengates."