The Officer Key Decision meeting scheduled for Thursday 3 September 2026 was set to discuss a single item: the award of a Pan-London Postal Goods & Services Contract. The report pack indicated a recommendation to award this contract to Royal Mail.

Pan-London Postal Goods & Services Contract

The primary item scheduled for discussion was the award of a call-off contract for postal goods and services. This contract was intended to be awarded to Royal Mail through a direct award under the CCS RM6280 Postal Services & Solutions Framework, Lot 2. The report pack highlighted that Royal Mail is considered the sole supplier capable of providing a fully integrated postal service, including the collection and delivery of 1st and 2nd class mail. This unique position stems from Royal Mail's status as the Universal Service Provider under the Postal Services Act 2011, making it the only regulated provider able to offer a full service that includes next-day delivery of 1st Class post.

The report indicated that the council has a continuing need for a postal service to support statutory and operational functions across various departments, including revenues and benefits, electoral services, housing, parking, and regulatory services. The existing contract was due to expire on 12 September 2026.

Newham Council had previously participated in a pan-London postal services arrangement, collaborating with other London boroughs and coordinated through the London Boroughs Postal Board. This model involved boroughs working together on procurement, with each authority then entering into its own separate call-off contract. A recent aggregated pan-London procurement exercise, run by the Government Commercial Agency (GCA) on behalf of 21 London boroughs, concluded without a contract award due to a lack of compliant bids.

In light of this, the report proposed a direct award to Royal Mail as the most viable alternative. It was noted that feedback from suppliers suggested no other commercial supplier could offer a UK-wide collection and delivery service with next-day delivery capabilities. The recommended contract duration was for a period of up to 18 months (12 months plus a 6-month extension). The estimated cost to Newham for this period was £3.50 million, with a total shared-services cost for Newham and Havering combined of £5.84 million. This figure accounted for anticipated price increases from Royal Mail, which were expected to take effect from 05 October 2026.

The report outlined several alternative options that were considered and rejected, including doing nothing, extending the current contract, running a revised aggregated competition, or a direct award under the Procurement Act 2023. The recommended option of a direct award under the existing framework was presented as offering the best available value for money, with the GCA's oversight of pricing changes providing a safeguard against uncontrolled increases.

The decision-maker for this matter was Caroline Holland, Corporate Director of Resources, in consultation with Councillor Zulfiqar Ali, Cabinet member for Finance and Resources. The report indicated that the decision was delegated by Cabinet on 16 June 2026.