To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps his Department is taking to improve postal services carried out by the Royal Mail in rural areas.

Ministers and officials have discussions with Royal Mail on a regular basis in its capacity as the universal service provider. It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail's service standards and decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification.

The Government's objective in relation to postal services continues to be to secure a sustainable universal service for users throughout the UK, including those in remote and rural areas.