As a counter-balance, steps are also planned to ensure the PO can compete on fair terms. Byers intends to introduce new legislation in the autumn that will allow the Post Office to keep more of its profits. In addition, the organisation is to be re-structured as a PLC, making it more 'business-like', though it will remain in the public domain.

The Post Office has lived with change for some time. Liberalisation is underway across Europe, and increasing numbers of competitors have been chipping away at all areas of the business.

In response, the PO has made some notable efforts to streamline efficiency and upgrade standards of service.

In one clear example, a three-year contract was awarded to WSP-FM earlier this year for the introduction of a centralised helpdesk, coordinating and managing for the first time all of the facilities demands spread across the PO's thousands of buildings.