FUTURE OF ROYAL MAIL (No. 2)

That this House expresses concern following figures published by Compass which show that the sale of Royal Mail at this time would raise £900 million less than just a year ago; recognises that this significantly weakens the case set out by the Government for the part-privatisation of Royal Mail and also raises concerns about achieving value for money; believes that the involvement of the private sector is not required given that all sectors of the Royal Mail Group are now profitable; and calls on the Government to abandon its plans for part-privatisation of the Royal Mail as a matter of urgency, particularly given the current economic downturn, and to pursue alternative funding options which keep the Royal Mail wholly public and competing on a level playing field.