GREATER powers may be needed to maintain a universal postal service to rural areas, MPs have warned.

The universal service obligation ensures postal deliveries are available to all parts of the UK – rural and urban – at the same cost and to the same standard.

The Rural Services Network is among the organisations to highlight the importance of the obligation and campaign for its retention.

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That view has now been supported by MPs sitting on the House of Commons Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) select committee.

The universal service was not under immediate threat, said the committee. But this could change in a rapidly changing postal market, it warned.

Postal regulator Ofcom may need additional regulatory duties to ensure the future of the Universal Service obligation, said the committee.

Committee chairman Adrian Bailey said: "The universal postal service is available to everyone living in every part of the United Kingdom.

"It is an essential service to many people, especially those living in rural areas, to those less able to travel, to older people, and also to blind and partially-sighted people."

Ofcom needed to outline in more detail how it would respond quickly to changes in postal market conditions which may endanger the universal service obligation, said Mr Bailey.

Ofcom had a difficult role in ensuring that the provision of a Universal Service was both financially sustainable and efficient, said a committee report on Thursday (12 March).

As competition increases, the statutory remit of Ofcom may need to change.

Ofcom must recognise its over-riding obligation to ensure the protection of the universal service and, if necessary, there should be changes in the regulatory framework to enable it to do so.

Mr Bailey said: "The postal sector is changing quickly, with declining volumes of letters, and a sharp increase in parcel volume arising from the rapid growth of internet shopping."

Ofcom was required to perform a fine balancing act between ensuring the minimum standards of the universal service were maintained while encouraging a competitive market in the postal sector.

But the BIS Committee was clear that while competition should not be stifled, the fundamental principle of the universal service must be upheld.