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Sir,
Your coverage of the National Audit Office report on Postcomm and
postal services ("Watchdog warns on Post Office competition", January 24)
was wide of the mark. There is nothing new in identifying a risk that the
universal postal service might suffer if Consignia were subject to
competition and this was not the most important conclusion to be drawn
from the NAO's report. The report stated explicitly that evidence from
overseas showed that "universal service is maintained under liberalised
conditions". More important were the NAO conclusions that there "may be
insufficient competition to generate an improved service to most
customers" and that, in the event that this happened, the regulatory
regime might fail to provide sufficient incentives to Consignia to improve
its efficiency and service. If anything, the NAO report suggests that more
competition and the eventual privatisation of Consignia are necessary to
ensure the sort of postal service the country needs. Our monitoring
reinforces this view.
Michael MacClancy, Senior Consultant, Triangle Management Services
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