Opening up the postal market to private sector competition has provided no significant benefit for consumers or smaller businesses but represents a "substantial threat" to the future of the Royal Mail, an independent report commissioned by the government warned today.

A major shake-up is needed in the way the industry is regulated if Britain is to benefit from a strong, competitive and cost-effective postal services, according to the interim review produced for business secretary John Hutton.

Large companies have benefited from the full liberalisation of the postal market since 2006 with more choice, lower prices and better quality products, but "there have been no significant benefits for smaller businesses and domestic consumers," said the report. It found these customers were largely happy with the value for money now provided to them by the state-owned Royal Mail but said the current situation endangered the future of the universal service which could guarantee one price and next day delivery throughout the country.

"There is now a substantial threat to Royal Mail's financial stability and, therefore, the universal service. We have come to the conclusion, based on evidence submitted so far, that the status quo is not tenable. It will not deliver our shared vision for the postal sector," it concluded.

The panel which carried out the review, led by former Ofcom deputy chairman Richard Hooper, said in its initial findings that there was now a "strong case" for taking action to make sure the Royal Mail has a sustainable future.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/may/06/post.consumeraffairs

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The move is part of Government plans to release cash from the country's £337billion worth of assets. Last May it began investigating selling off British Waterways to make up to £1billion. It has also sold off a 25 per cent share in British Energy for £2billion.

But the NHS [National Health Service] was never intended to act as a sinking fund to be plundered when times were lean. Rather, it represents an investment in the health of the nation, both now and for future generations.

And we know that in the past, hasty, ill-conceived attempts to cash in investments have cost us dearly: Gordon Brown, after disregarding advice from the Bank of England, lost £2?billion when he sold half of the country's gold reserves at the bottom of the market.

The sale of NHS property would entail a process known as "sale and leaseback", whereby sites are sold to developers, then leased back by the NHS. The Government likes it because of the large cash-windfall it receives, but ignores the fact that it ties NHS trusts into long, expensive contracts which cause costs to rise in the long term.

The trusts also have limited bargaining power in this situation because it's not as if they can simply decamp and rent a vacant hospital round the corner.

Selling off hospitals and NHS property will have repercussions for generations to come. It's a painfully short-sighted solution which will have lasting detrimental effects on the health of our nation.
Take MRSA, for example. At present there is a vogue among ministers and NHS officials to reduce the total number of beds in hospitals, preferring to focus on higher bed-occupancy rates and speedy discharges to make the hospital more "efficient".

This is even more common in hospitals already run by private companies under the Private Finance Initiative, where there are around 30 per cent fewer beds than in other hospitals. But research - funded by the Government, in fact - now suggests that bed occupancy rate is the single biggest factor in the rise of MRSA and hospital-acquired infections.

When bed occupancy is higher than 90 per cent, infection rates are 40 per cent higher than when 85 per cent of beds are occupied. Many hospitals are already running at near 100 per cent. This is only one example of how important it is that we retain ownership and control of NHS resources so we can respond when evidence like this comes to light, and we can reverse decisions and policy when necessary.

You don't invest in the NHS by selling it off. It may provide a temporary alleviation for a cash-strapped government, but the legacy means that future generations will have no room to manoeuvre or use the resources as needed because the NHS will no longer be ours.

*  'Trust Me, I'm a Junior Doctor' by Max Pemberton (Hodder) is available from Telegraph Books for £11.99 + £1.25 p&p. Call 0870 428 4112.

[Credit where it's due - that was in the Daily Telegraph - a right-wing paper.]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/main.jhtml?xml=/health/2008/05/05/hmax105.xml