POH-IR1-4 Response Accepted Self-assessed

Increase Advisory Board membership if needed for capacity

Recommendation

If the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board considers it necessary, the number of persons appointed to the Board should be increased so as to ensure that the Board has sufficient capacity to perform the functions set out above.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
The Department for Business and Trade accepted this recommendation, stating it would keep the case for expanding the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board under review in discussion with its current members (Govt response, 2023-09-21). As of January 2026, the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board had not required expansion, and DBT confirmed its ongoing commitment to keep the matter under review in discussion with the Board (Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, 2026-01-01).
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 24 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
Accepted Department for Business and Trade
21 Sep 2023

Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation. The Department will keep under review the case for expanding the Board, in discussion with its current members, to ensure it has sufficient capacity to fulfil its duties.

Read Full Response
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.

Source
Department for Business and Trade government_response
21 Sep 2023

Government response: Accepted. Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation. The Department will keep under review the case for expanding the Board, in discussion with its current members, to ensure it has sufficie...

Source
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 had not required expansion as of January 2026. DBT confirmed it would keep the case for expanding the Board under review in discussion with the Board itself.

Horizon Compensation Advisory Board reports (publ… View Source
Source
Inquiry Post Office Horizon Inquiry
Report First Interim Report: Compensation 17 Jul 2023
View Source
Responsible Bodies
Department for Business and Trade Primary
Themes & Tags
Post Office Horizon compensation gaps Weak Government Accountability & Scrutiny Advisory Board Capacity Membership
Recommendation age 2.7 yrs
Last formal update 31 Jan 2026