The Full Package on Rural Postal Services

Citizens Advice has published a new report, The Full Package: What Consumers Need from a Changing Postal Service, providing detailed insight into how people across England and Wales use letters, parcels, and post offices — and what they want from the postal system in future. The research includes the views of consumers living in rural areas and highlights several rural-specific challenges.

As reforms to the Universal Service Obligation (USO) and the post office network are being considered by Ofcom and Government respectively, this research comes at a key moment for shaping future postal policy.

Key findings for rural communities:

• Rural consumers are more dependent on postal services than those in urban areas. This includes a greater reliance on home parcel deliveries due to fewer options for out-of-home collection, and on post offices for essential services such as banking and bill payments, with fewer alternatives available locally.
• Participants from rural locations frequently reported increased travel distances to their nearest post office, due to permanent closures or reduced hours. This has added cost and inconvenience, particularly for those with limited access to transport.
• Post office access was especially important for rural residents, not only as a service hub but also as a key part of community infrastructure. Nearly 3 in 10 people nationally said they used a post office for its community role — rising to over 4 in 10 in rural areas.
• Participants from rural areas supported the idea of a two-tier model for post offices: smaller branches providing core services (such as posting parcels and basic banking) locally, with more specialist services available at larger centres further afield. This was seen as a potential solution to sustain rural access while recognising operational pressures.
• Issues such as limited opening hours, poor public transport links, and accessibility within franchised branches were raised by rural participants as barriers to service use.

Recommendations relevant to rural users include:

• Government should continue to mandate geographic access to post offices, ensuring most consumers — including those in remote rural areas — have a branch nearby, even if some services are automated.
• The quality of service at rural branches should be monitored and improved, especially regarding physical access and staff support for older and disabled consumers.
• Ofcom should expand price safeguard caps to both 1st and 2nd class letters, as affordability remains a concern for low-income rural households who are more reliant on post due to digital exclusion.
• Royal Mail, Ofcom and the Post Office should collaborate to deliver an ‘Address and Collect’ service, giving people in insecure housing — including those in hard-to-reach rural locations — a reliable way to receive mail via local collection points.

Next steps:

The Citizens Advice report provides a clear evidence base to inform the Government’s upcoming Green Paper on post office reform and Ofcom’s review of the USO. As these reviews progress, it will be vital that the specific needs of rural communities are reflected in policy responses.

The Rural Services Network recognises the value of this research in highlighting the ongoing importance of postal services for rural communities. We will continue to monitor developments around the USO and post office provision to ensure the needs of rural residents are considered in future policy decisions.

Read the full report HERE