What is postal exclusion?
Postal services remain an important essential service for people across Scotland. Many critical communications, from health appointment letters and social security decisions to legal documents and bills, still arrive by post.
Yet for some, accessing mail safely and reliably is far from straightforward. This is postal exclusion: being unable to receive or use post to access essential services due to a lack of a safe and secure fixed address. Those most at risk include people experiencing homelessness, victims or survivors of domestic abuse and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.
Citizens Advice research in 2020 found that seven million people in the UK had struggled to access post at some point in the previous decade, with follow‑up research in 2024 showing the problem is worsening.
Why postal exclusion matters
When people cannot safely receive their post, the consequences can be immediate and serious. Missed letters can lead to lost or delayed benefit payments, missed healthcare appointments, and challenges accessing banking and other essential services. For people in unsafe or insecure living situations, mail can also be intercepted, which can increase risk and undermine privacy.
Postal exclusion deepens existing inequalities and increases the risk of consumers being in vulnerable circumstances.
Citizens Advice in England and Wales has proposed an Address and Collect scheme to widen access to postal services to those without a safe and secure fixed address. As Scotland’s statutory consumer body, Consumer Scotland has undertaken work to engage with a broad range of Scottish stakeholders and consider the case for an Address and Collect Scheme in Scotland.
Below, we outline what the scheme would do, what we heard from charities and local community action groups and why a Scottish approach matters.
What is Address and Collect?
Address and Collect is a proposed free service that would allow people without a safe, stable, or usable address to receive mail securely at their local Post Office. The scheme would provide a ‘proxy address’ for individual consumers that they could use to access social security, healthcare, banking and other essential services.
Unlike existing services which allow mail to be held at Post Offices – for example when people are on holiday - Address and Collect is designed specifically for people in non‑traditional living arrangements, as well as those in unsafe or precarious housing, with additional safeguards and processes to make it usable for benefit applications and essential services.
Our role: engaging on a Scottish approach
Citizens Advice asked Consumer Scotland to engage with the groups in Scotland most likely to experience postal exclusion and who could benefit from an Address and Collect scheme.
- At the end of last year, we spoke to community action groups, third‑sector organisations, and the Scottish Government to explore how Address and Collect could work in a Scottish context
- We also held targeted engagement with organisations working directly with people experiencing homelessness, victims or survivors of domestic abuse, and Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities
In these sessions, we outlined how the scheme might operate and gathered views on the practicalities, benefits, and considerations for implementation in Scotland.
What we heard
Strong support for a practical, safer alternative: There was high enthusiasm for the scheme and its potential to reduce harm. Those we spoke to told us many of the challenges communities face stem from being unable to access post or having it intercepted. Collecting mail securely at a Post Office was seen as significantly safer than attempting to retrieve it from a previous or unsafe address.
A proxy address that “works” for services: Participants welcomed the concept of a proxy address that could be used to access social security, healthcare, banking and other essential services. They described access to services as one of the biggest barriers facing affected groups, especially where providers still rely on physical letters rather than digital communications.
Bridging the digital divide: While many organisations are moving to digital channels, stakeholders noted a persistent gap in provision. Address and Collect was seen as a practical way to avoid leaving digitally excluded people behind by ensuring they still receive critical information.
Why Scotland’s context matters: Remote and rural communities, including the Highlands and Islands, where distances, weather, transport availability and digital connectivity can compound exclusion. For people in these communities, particularly those who also require an added layer of personal safety, Address and Collect could be a lifeline, offering a secure, consistent point of access to essential mail.
Main benefits for consumers
- A usable proxy address for social security, healthcare and essential services
- Secure mail collection at a local Post Office, reducing risk and improving privacy
- Reduced postal exclusion which enables people to receive and act on vital communications
- Support for consumers who are both digitally and postally excluded, ensuring critical information is not missed
Conclusion and next steps
Our engagement indicates that Address and Collect is viewed as having the potential to be a timely and impactful intervention for Scotland. By providing a safe, reliable way to receive post and a proxy address accepted by essential services, the scheme could help people access social security, healthcare and banking, improving wellbeing and quality of life.
We will continue our engagement with charities and local community action groups as well as the Scottish Government to refine how Address and Collect could operate in Scotland’s context and to ensure any future scheme is practical, trusted and effective for the people who need it most.