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Royal Mail Group Ltd
Type Limited
Founded 1660
Headquarters Flag of the United Kingdom London, United Kingdom
Key people Allan Leighton, Chairman
Adam Crozier, CEO
Industry postal service
Owner HM Government
Subsidiaries Post Office Limited
Website royalmailgroup.com
royalmail.com

Royal Mail is the national postal service of the United Kingdom. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Allan Leighton (born April 12, 1953 in Hereford) is an English Businessman, and current non-executive Chairman of the Adam Crozier (born 26 January 1964, Falkirk is the Chief executive of the Royal Mail. For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" Mail, or post, is a method for transmitting information and tangible objects wherein written Documents typically enclosed in Envelopes and also Ownership is the state or fact of exclusive rights and control over Property, which may be an object, land/real estate, Intellectual property Her Majesty's Government, or when the monarch is male His Majesty's Government, is the title used by the Government of the United Kingdom, based at A subsidiary, in business matters is an entity that is controlled by a bigger and more powerful entity For the UK's mail delivery service See Royal Mail Post Office Ltd (Swyddfa'r Post Cyf A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages Mail, or post, is a method for transmitting information and tangible objects wherein written Documents typically enclosed in Envelopes and also The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Historically, the General Post Office was a government department, which included — and still does — the Royal Mail delivery business; but it became The Post Office, a state-owned corporation, in 1969 and then a Public Limited Company wholly owned by HM Government in 2000. A ministry is a specialised organisation responsible for a sector of Government Public administration, sometimes led by a minister, but usually a senior A Public Limited Company ( PLC, plc or plc or p l c is a type of Limited company in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland which is Her Majesty's Government, or when the monarch is male His Majesty's Government, is the title used by the Government of the United Kingdom, based at The name initially registered with Companies House was Trushelfco (No 2758) and this was changed to Consignia plc on 26th January 2001. Companies House is an Executive Agency of the United Kingdom Government in the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

This new name was aimed at ending the confusion that had existed between the terms The Post Office (the whole organisation) and Post Offices (the customer accessible counters). Another reason was to have a unique name for the international market. This new name was unpopular with employees, the unions and the general public; and Consignia plc became Royal Mail Group plc in 2002, and then Royal Mail Group Limited in 2007.

Unlike other former state monopolies such as The Stationery Office, British Gas and British Telecom, Royal Mail was not privatised in the 1980s and 1990s, but remains a limited company wholly owned by the UK government. In Economics, government monopoly (or public monopoly) is a form of Coercive monopoly in which a Government agency is the sole provider of a The Stationery Office ( TSO) is a British publishing company that was created in 1996 when the publishing arm of Her Majesty's Stationery Office British Gas plc was formerly the Monopoly gas supplier in the United Kingdom. BT Group plc (formerly British Telecommunications plc) which trades as BT (ˌbiːˈtiː bee tee) (previously known as British Telecom and still Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of business from the Public sector (government to the Private sector (business A limited company in the United Kingdom is a Corporation whose liability is limited by law The politics of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland takes place in the framework of a Constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is Head

A wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Mail is Post Office Limited, which operates the national network of post offices. A subsidiary, in business matters is an entity that is controlled by a bigger and more powerful entity For the UK's mail delivery service See Royal Mail Post Office Ltd (Swyddfa'r Post Cyf As the activities of Royal Mail have been reduced, so the network of post offices has contracted.

Royal Mail remains responsible for the universal mail collection and delivery service in the UK. Letters are deposited in a pillar or wall box, taken to a post office, or (by arrangement) collected in bulk from businesses. A pillar box is a free-standing Post box, in the United Kingdom, where Mail is deposited to be collected by the Royal Mail and forwarded to the Wall boxes are a type of Post box or Letter box found in many countries including France, the United Kingdom, the Commonwealth of Nations A post office is a facility authorized by a Postal system for the posting receipt sorting handling transmission or delivery of Mail. Deliveries are made at least once every day (except Sundays and Bank Holidays) at uniform charges for all destinations within the UK. A bank holiday is a Public holiday in the United Kingdom and also in the Republic of Ireland.

According to its annual report for the year ended 26 March 2006, Royal Mail delivers 84 million items every working day and has a network of 14,376 post offices. Events 1026 - Pope John XIX crowns Conrad II as Holy Roman Emperor. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Revenue for the year was £9. 056 billion, and profits before tax were £312 million. Since this time, profits have dropped year on year – £233 million in 2006/7 falling to a £10 million/annum trading deficit in 2007. In 2008, the BBC reported that Royal Mail's trading position had worsened dramatically to an annual loss of £279 million/yr in financial 2007. As this met government targets, the CEO's remuneration increased to a record high. Adam Crozier (born 26 January 1964, Falkirk is the Chief executive of the Royal Mail.


Contents

History

See also: General Post Office (United Kingdom)
The main post office in Oxford, England, in St Aldate's.
The main post office in Oxford, England, in St Aldate's. Oxford is currently bidding for the 2010 Wikimania Conference Oxford () is a city, and the County town of Oxfordshire, St Aldate's is a street in central Oxford, England. It runs south from the generally acknowledged centre of Oxford at Carfax.
A Victorian hexagonal red post box outside King's College, Cambridge.
A Victorian hexagonal red post box outside King's College, Cambridge. Culture The Victorian fascination with novelty resulted in a deep interest in the relationship between modernity and cultural continuities King's College Cambridge is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge.

The Royal Mail traces its history back to 1516, when Henry VIII established a "Master of the Posts", a post which eventually evolved into the office of the Postmaster General. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 &ndash 28 January 1547 was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of The Postmaster General in the United Kingdom is a defunct ministerial position in HM Government. The Royal Mail service was first made available to the public by Charles I on July 31, 1635, with postage being paid by the recipient, and the General Post Office (GPO) was officially established by Charles II in 1660. Charles I, (19 November 1600 &ndash 30 January 1649 was King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution. Events 30 BC - Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian 's forces but most of his army subsequently Charles II (Charles Stuart 29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685 was the King of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Between 1719 and 1763, Ralph Allen, Postmaster at Bath, signed a series of contracts with the post office to develop and expand Britain's postal network. Ralph Allen (1693 - June 29, 1764) was baptised at St Columb Major, Cornwall on July 24, 1693. Bath is a city in Somerset in the south west of England It is situated west of London and south-east of Bristol. He organised mail coaches which were provided by both Wilson & Company of London and Williams & Company of Bath. The early Royal Mail Coaches were similar to ordinary family coaches but with Post Office livery. In Great Britain, the mail coach or post coach was a Horse-drawn carriage that carried mail deliveries from 1784 A livery is a Uniform or other sign worn in a non-military context on a person or object (such as an airplane or Vehicle) to denote a relationship [1]

Uniform penny postage

Main article: Uniform Penny Post
A post box in front of Mansfield College, Oxford. It is marked ER VII for Edvardvs Rex, the seventh (King Edward VII)
A post box in front of Mansfield College, Oxford. The Uniform Penny Post was a component of the comprehensive reform of the Royal Mail, the UK 's official postal service that took place in the 19th-century Mansfield College is one of the 39 constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is marked ER VII for Edvardvs Rex, the seventh (King Edward VII)

In 1840 the mail underwent substantial reforms and the uniform penny post was introduced. The Uniform Penny Post was a component of the comprehensive reform of the Royal Mail, the UK 's official postal service that took place in the 19th-century A single rate for delivery anywhere in the UK was paid by the sender. To certify that postage had been paid on a letter, the sender would affix the first adhesive stamp, the Penny Black. A postage stamp is an adhesive paper evidence of pre-paying a fee for postal services The Penny Black, the world's first adhesive Postage stamp of a public postal system was issued by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on

As the first country to issue stamps, British stamps are the only stamps that do not bear the name of the country of issue on them. Postage stamp design is the activity of Graphic design as applied to Postage stamps Many thousands of designs have been created since a profile bust of Queen

It has been asserted that it is an act of treason to place a postage stamp bearing the British monarch upside down. [2] However, the newspaper that made this claim provides no source for this assertion, and none of the various Treason Acts make any mention of postage stamps. In Law, treason is the Crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or Nation.

Pillar boxes

Main article: pillar box

Traditionally UK post boxes carry the Latin initials of the reigning monarch at the time of their installation: in this case VR for Victoria Regina. A pillar box is a free-standing Post box, in the United Kingdom, where Mail is deposited to be collected by the Royal Mail and forwarded to the Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901 was from 20 June 1837 the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Pillar boxes and other RMG Street Furniture are maintained by Romec Ltd.

1960 to present

In 1969 the GPO was changed from a government department to a state-owned company, and the position of Postmaster General was abolished. The Postmaster General in the United Kingdom is a defunct ministerial position in HM Government.

In 2000, The Post Office renamed itself ‘Consignia’. However, the change proved to be highly unpopular with both the public and even the organisation's own employees, with the Communication Workers' Union boycotting the name. The Communication Workers Union (CWU is the main Trade union in the United Kingdom for people working for Telephone, Cable and postal In 2002, the organisation adopted the name "Royal Mail Group plc" with the following operating divisions:

Contrary to urban myth, Royal Mail does not own the trademark on the colour red, but a specific shade of the colour red: "Royal Mail, the Royal Mail Cruciform, the colour red and SmartStamp are all registered trademarks of Royal Mail Group plc. ". [3]

In 2001 the government set up a postal regulator, Postcomm, and offered licences to private companies to deliver mail. In 2001, the Consumer Council for Postal Services, more commonly known as Postwatch, was created for consumers to express any concerns they may have with the postal service in the UK. Postwatch (officially the Consumer Council for Postal Services - CCPS is a Non-Departmental Public Body set up in January 2001 - by Section 2 of the Postal

From January 1, 2006, the Royal Mail lost its 350-year monopoly and the UK postal market became fully open to competition. New Year See also New Year The Ancient Romans began their consular year on January 1st since 153 BC Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

Timeline

London's largest sorting office, Mount Pleasant
London's largest sorting office, Mount Pleasant

Non-postal services

Royal Mail introduced telegraph services in 1870 and telephone services in 1912. Basic principle A traditional landline telephone system also known as "plain old telephone service" (POTS, commonly handles both signaling and audio information It took over nearly all of the UK's municipal telephone companies (the sole exception being Kingston Communications in Hull) and was responsible for the resultant telephone network until British Telecommunications was demerged by the British Telecommunications Act 1981. KCOM Group is a UK communications and IT services provider It is headquartered in Kingston upon Hull, where subsidiary business unit Kingston Communications BT Group plc (formerly British Telecommunications plc) which trades as BT (ˌbiːˈtiː bee tee) (previously known as British Telecom and still BT was later privatised.

The National Giro Bank was introduced in 1968, and sold to Alliance & Leicester in 1990. Girobank was a British financial institution founded in 1968 It started as Post Office Giro but went through several name changes National Giro, Alliance & Leicester is a British Bank and former Building society.

Historically, many government benefits and state retirement pensions were paid in cash through the post office network. Social security primarily refers to a Social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions including poverty old However, in recent years, an increasing proportion of benefit and pension payments have been made directly by bank transfer, leading to a loss of revenue for Post Office branches and many closures. Wire transfer is a method of transferring money from one entity to another

Public interest

The Royal Mail is regulated by Postcomm, while consumer interests are represented by Postwatch. The relationship between the two has not always been good and in 2005 Postwatch took Postcomm to Judicial Review over its decision regarding rebates to late-paying customers. Judicial review is the power of the courts to annul the acts of the executive and/or the legislative power where it finds them incompatible with a higher norm

The Government department responsible for the Royal Mail is the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, however the public financial interest is managed by the Shareholder executive

Although now a private company, the Royal Mail enjoys special protection under Government legislation which severely limits consumer rights. The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform ( BERR) is a United Kingdom government department. The Shareholder Executive is the body within the British Government responsible for managing the government's financial interest in a range of public companies Under the Postal Services Act 2000, the Royal Mail is under no contractual obligation to deliver most mail, including special delivery items. Royal Mail Special Delivery is a mail service from Royal Mail in the United Kingdom. In addition, no court action can be taken against the Royal Mail more than 12 months after an item is posted.

Royal Mail has, in some quarters, a poor reputation for losing mail despite more than 99. 6% of mail arriving safely. According to Home Office figures from 2002 up to a million letters a week were lost or delivered to the wrong address [6] and one in five of these have been stolen, even letters or parcels sent via Recorded Delivery. However, most of these thefts are due to external crime rather than theft by staff.

The Chief Executive of Royal Mail, Adam Crozier has been quoted on various occasions as saying that "every single letter is important. Adam Crozier (born 26 January 1964, Falkirk is the Chief executive of the Royal Mail. "

Industrial relations

See also: 2007 Royal Mail industrial disputes
See also: Communication Workers Union (UK)

Royal Mail has been at the centre of a number of industrial disputes during its history - notably the national wildcat strikes in 2003[7] and a seven-week strike in 1971. The 2007 Royal Mail industrial disputes are a series of industrial disputes between Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union in the United Kingdom The Communication Workers Union (CWU is the main Trade union in the United Kingdom for people working for Telephone, Cable and postal Strike action, often simply called a strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal by Employees to perform work. [8] More recently, workers at Royal Mail set up the discussion forum royalmailchat "for all employees and customers of Royal Mail"[9] which has been central to the summer 2007 dispute over pay and conditions. By Autumn 2007, these disputes began to escalate into industrial action. [10] In mid October unions and management agreed a resolution to the dispute.

Fleet

Royal Mail Ford Transit van
Royal Mail Ford Transit van

In addition to running a large number of road vehicles, Royal Mail uses trains, a ship and an aircraft, with an air hub at East Midlands Airport. The Ford Transit is a range of Panel vans minibuses and pickup trucks produced by the Ford Motor Company in Europe. East Midlands Airport is an Airport in the East Midlands of England, near Castle Donington in Leicestershire.

The following aircraft are included in the dedicated fleet:

The RMS St. Helena is a cargo and passenger ship that serves the British overseas territory of Saint Helena. The RMS St Helena is a cargo and passenger ship that serves the British overseas territory of Saint Helena. The British Overseas Territories are fourteen territories that are under the Sovereignty of the United Kingdom, but which do not form part of the United Kingdom It sails between Cape Town and Saint Helena, occasionally visiting the dependencies of Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha. Cape Town (Kaapstad Xhosa: Ikapa) is the second most populous city in South Africa, forming part of the metropolitan municipality of the Saint Helena (pronounced saint he-LEE-na) named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin and a British overseas territory Ascension Island is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, around from the coast of Africa Tristan da Cunha (ˈtrɪstən də ˈkuːnə is a group of remote volcanic Islands in the south Atlantic Ocean, 2816 km (1750 miles from South It also visits the Isle of Portland, England twice per year. The Isle of Portland ( is a limestone tied island long by wide in the English Channel. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland It is one of the last remaining ocean-going ships to carry the designation Royal Mail Ship. Royal Mail Ship (sometimes Steam-ship, Steamer) usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, is the Ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that

The London Post Office Railway is no longer in use. The Post Office Railway, also known as Mail Rail, was a narrow-gauge driverless private underground railway in London built by the Post

Business services

The Royal Mail runs, alongside its stamped mail services, another sector of post called business mail. The large majority of Royal Mail's business mail service is for PPI or franked mail, where the sender prints their own 'stamp'. For PPI mail this involves either a simple rubber stamp and an ink pad, or a printed label. For franked mail, a dedicated franking machine [1] is used. Franking (or "Franks") are any and all devices or markings such as Postage stamps (including printed and/or embossed on Postal stationery

See also

References

  1. ^ http://www.bathpostalmuseum.org/hop5.html
  2. ^ The Times. The World's Strangest Laws. Retrieved on 2007-08-25. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1248 - The Dutch city of Ommen receives city rights and fortification rights from Otto III the
  3. ^ http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/jump2?catId=400138&mediaId=600023
  4. ^ http://www.theregister.co.uk/1999/03/17/royal_email_backs_security_service/
  5. ^ http://www.postalconsumers.org/content/IPU/060701.pdf#search=%22royal%20mail%20competition%20europe%22
  6. ^ Postwatch, "Royal Mail's Lost Mail", press release, 12 August 2002(PDF)
  7. ^ "Wildcats return with a roar - postal wildcat strike, 2003" (libcom.org)
  8. ^ 1971: "Post strike ends with pay deal" (bbc.co.uk)
  9. ^ Royal Mail Chat
  10. ^ Mark Tran and agencies. "Crozier hits out at striking postal workers", The Guardian, 2007-10-09. The Guardian (until 1959 The Manchester Guardian) is a British Newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 768 - Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks. Retrieved on 2007-11-11. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 308 - The Congress of Carnuntum: Attempting to keep peace within the Roman Empire, the leaders of the Tetrarchy declare  
  11. ^ Airliners. net. G-ZAPV. Retrieved on 2007-04-25. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 1607 - Eighty Years' War: The Dutch fleet destroys the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar.

External links

The Competition Commission is an independent body responsible for investigating Mergers market shares and conditions and the regulation of firms under United Kingdom

Dictionary

Royal Mail

-proper noun

  1. The national postal service of the United Kingdom
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