POH-IR1-1 Response Accepted in Part Self-assessed

Allow Advisory Board to monitor individual compensation cases

Recommendation

The Horizon Compensation Advisory Board should not be prevented from monitoring individual cases in which compensation has been or is to be determined by paragraph 4 of its Terms of Reference.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
According to the Official government response (2023-09-21, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/response-to-post-office-horizon-it-inquiry-interim-report-compensation), the Department for Business and Trade partially accepted this recommendation in September 2023, updating the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board's Terms of Reference to include monitoring whether "full and fair compensation is being paid out to applicants" and advising the Minister quarterly. According to the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board (2026-01-01), the Board has since published quarterly reports on its monitoring of individual cases. According to the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board (2026-01-01), the Business and Trade Select Committee heard from the Board in January 2026 regarding the effectiveness of its monitoring role.
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 19 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
Jurisdiction
UK-wide
Response
Accepted in Part
Accepted in Part Department for Business and Trade
21 Sep 2023

Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation in part. The Horizon Compensation Advisory Board shall consider whether "full and fair compensation is being paid out to applicants under the 3 schemes" and shall advise the Minister at 3-monthly intervals. The Board's Terms of Reference have been updated to reflect this monitoring role.

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Progress Timeline
Official Report
31 Jan 2026

Verification: Interim report recommendations largely implemented through Post Office (Horizon System) Compensation Act 2024 and scheme operational changes. HSS closing date set as 31 January 2026. Sir Gary Hickinbottom appointed to oversee scheme fairness.

Department for Business and Trade government_response
21 Sep 2023

Government response: Accepted in part. Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation in part. The Horizon Compensation Advisory Board shall consider whether "full and fair compensation is being paid out to applicants under ...

Published Evidence

Published assessments of implementation progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Check the source type badge to see whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.

Reasonable Progress
01 Jan 2026
Horizon Compensation Advisory Board Other

The Horizon Compensation Advisory Board has published quarterly reports on its monitoring of individual cases. Business and Trade Select Committee heard from the Board at its January 2026 session on whether it was able to monitor effectively.

Horizon Compensation Advisory Board reports (publ… View Source
Source
Report First Interim Report: Compensation 17 Jul 2023
Responsible Bodies
Department for Business and Trade Primary
Recommendation age 2.7 yrs
Last formal update 31 Jan 2026