Statistics
The Postal Service of the Velocity Interoperability Network publishes statistics on the volume of mail it handles, the performance it achieves against its delivery standards, and the extent of the network through which it works. This page carries the Service's first statistical release, published on 6 September 2026, and the schedule by which the releases that follow will appear.
The release covers the transition period from 10 August to 5 September 2026, during which the member organisations of the Velocity Interoperability Network transferred their internal mail arrangements to the Service, and records the position of the Service at its establishment.
First release: the transition period and the position at establishment
- 186,400
- Items handled during the transition period
- 9,800
- Delivery points served in six postcode districts
- 38
- Delivery rounds worked from two sorting offices
- 142
- Staff of the Service at establishment
Mail handled during the transition period. Volumes rose through the period as member organisations transferred their mail rooms to the interim arrangements, the last of them doing so in the week beginning 31 August 2026.
| Week | Letters and large letters | Parcels | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 to 15 August 2026 | 32,400 | 7,100 | 39,500 |
| 17 to 22 August 2026 | 36,800 | 8,300 | 45,100 |
| 24 to 29 August 2026 | 39,700 | 9,400 | 49,100 |
| 31 August to 5 September 2026 | 42,300 | 10,400 | 52,700 |
| Whole period | 151,200 | 35,200 | 186,400 |
Mail by rate. The ordinary rate accounted for the greater part of the mail in both formats. The proportions below are the shares of letters and of parcels respectively.
| Format and rate | Items | Share of format (per cent) | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letters and large letters, ordinary rate | 128,500 | 85.0 | Delivered within two working days under the interim arrangements |
| Letters and large letters, priority rate | 22,700 | 15.0 | Delivered on the next working day |
| Parcels, ordinary rate | 28,900 | 82.1 | Delivered within three working days |
| Parcels, priority rate | 6,300 | 17.9 | Delivered on the next working day, with tracking |
Additional services. The figures below count the items to which each service was added. An item may carry more than one service, so the figures do not sum to the total of items handled.
| Service | Items | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Signed for | 4,120 | A signature taken and recorded on delivery |
| Tracked | 6,340 | Includes the 6,300 priority parcels, for which tracking is not charged |
| Insured to 500 credits | 610 | No claim was made on an insured item during the period |
| Insured to 2,500 credits | 84 | All were parcels posted between member organisations |
| Registered | 940 | Chiefly statutory notices and correspondence of the courts and registry |
| Recorded proof of posting | 2,180 | Issued at counters at the time of posting |
Items requiring further handling. The figures below record what became of items that could not be delivered at the first attempt, and the enquiries made about them.
| Measure | Items | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Items held at a post office for collection | 2,760 | Left after an unsuccessful attempt at delivery |
| Items collected within fifteen working days | 2,548 | 92.3 per cent of those held |
| Items returned to the sender | 1,340 | Wrongly addressed, refused or uncollected |
| Items redelivered on a day chosen by the recipient | 410 | No charge is made for a redelivery |
| Items traced on enquiry | 214 | Of which 198 were found and delivered |
| Items not found | 16 | 0.009 per cent of items handled |
| Claims for compensation settled | 9 | All within twenty working days of the trace being completed |
The network at establishment. The figures below describe the Service as it stood on 6 September 2026, the day before collections and deliveries began under its own tariff.
| Measure | Number | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Post offices | 6 | One at each principal site, providing every service of the Service |
| Counters | 6 | A second location at each principal site, with reduced services |
| Post boxes | 84 | At least twelve at each principal site and one at every other site with ten or more delivery points |
| Sorting offices | 2 | Central Exchange and Westbrook |
| Delivery rounds | 38 | Worked Monday to Saturday, with a second letter round in three districts |
| Postcode districts | 6 | Each divided into three sectors, eighteen in all |
| Delivery points | 9,800 | Recorded in the survey of 10 August 2026 and held in the register |
| Staff | 142 | In four divisions, as set out below |
Staff. The Service was established with 142 staff, of whom 118 had transferred from the mail rooms and messenger services of member organisations.
| Division | Staff | Work |
|---|---|---|
| Operations: delivery | 76 | Delivery officers working the 38 rounds and the collection of post boxes |
| Operations: sorting | 24 | Sorting officers and supervisors at the two sorting offices |
| Counters | 31 | Counter clerks and office managers at the twelve offices and counters |
| Business Services | 6 | Account management, bulk mail, franking and post office boxes |
| Standards and Statistics | 5 | Delivery standards, the postcode scheme, measurement and reporting |
| Total | 142 | The establishment of the Service on 6 September 2026 |
Schedule of reporting. Statistics are published quarterly, within one month of the end of the quarter, and each release is announced in the Newsroom.
| Period covered | Published | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter ending 30 September 2026 | October 2026 | Volume of mail, performance against the delivery standards, items traced and claims settled |
| Quarter ending 31 December 2026 | January 2027 | As above, with the first full quarter measured against the standards and a review of sector boundaries |
| Quarter ending 31 March 2027 | April 2027 | As above, with the annual review of the tariff |
| Quarter ending 30 June 2027 | July 2027 | As above, with a report on the network of post offices, counters and post boxes |
Basis of the figures. The definitions and cautions below apply to everything on this page.
- What counts as an item
- An item is a letter, large letter or parcel accepted for delivery, counted once at acceptance. Items refused at the counter, items posted without sufficient postage and returned unpaid, and internal correspondence of the Service are not counted.
- What counts as a delivery point
- A delivery point is a letterbox, counter or reception at which mail is accepted for those beyond it. A building with a single reception is one delivery point; a block of separately occupied offices is several. Post office boxes are not delivery points and are counted separately.
- How volumes are counted
- Letters are counted by the sorting machines at the two sorting offices; parcels are counted at acceptance and again at the delivery scan. Volume figures are rounded to the nearest hundred, and the components of a total are rounded so as to sum to it.
- Status of these figures
- The figures for the transition period are provisional. They were recorded under the interim arrangements of member organisations, whose counting was not uniform in the first week, and may be revised in the release for the quarter ending 30 September 2026. Revised figures are marked as such.
- Performance against the standards
- No performance figure is published in this release, since the delivery standards apply only from 7 September 2026. Performance for the period from that date to 30 September 2026 will be published in October, with the caution that delivery rounds were still being settled.
The standards against which future releases will report are set out on the Delivery Standards and Tracking page, the districts to which the delivery figures relate on the Postcodes page, and the account of the transition period on the History page. Requests for figures not published here may be sent to contact@postal.gov.vin.