POH-IR1-7 Response Accepted in Part Self-assessed

Amend Limitation Act to extend GLO deadline if needed

Recommendation

HM Government shall bring forward as soon as possible legislation amending section 11(3)(a) of the Limitation Act 1980 to allow payments of compensation under the GLO scheme to be made to applicants after midnight on 7 August 2024 if that proves to be necessary.

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 accepted this recommendation in principle in September 2023, stating its determination to deliver the General Litigation Order (GLO) scheme by August 2024 and its commitment to consider bringing forward legislation if the deadline appeared at risk. According to Gov.uk progress report (2026-01-31), the Post Office (Horizon System) Compensation Act 2024 was enacted, which implemented interim report recommendations, but according to the Business and Trade Select Committee (2026-01-06), a standalone bill for the Limitation Act amendment had not been brought forward, and the government was considering longer-term legislative options as of January 2026.
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

Accepted in principle. The department is determined to deliver the GLO scheme by August 2024. If it were to appear nearer the time that the deadline was likely to be missed, the government would of course consider whether legislation was necessary. (Source: DBT Response to Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry First Interim Report, September 2023)

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Progress Timeline
Department for Business and Trade government_response
21 Sep 2023

Government response: Accepted in principle. Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation in principle. The Department is determined to deliver the GLO scheme by August 2024 and will consider bringing forward legislation if the ...

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
06 Jan 2026
Business and Trade Select Committee Select Committee

Business and Trade Select Committee noted the Limitation Act amendment had not been brought forward as a standalone bill. The government intended to deliver the GLO scheme by August 2024 and was considering longer-term legislative options.

View detailed findings

Business and Trade Committee held an evidence session on 6 January 2026 with witnesses from Fujitsu, the CCRC, DBT and MoJ. The CCRC revealed Horizon software may have been installed earlier than previously believed, potentially expanding the pool of eligible convictions. Over 4,000 claimants were still awaiting final settlement across all schemes at that date. Government accepted only 3 of 17 committee recommendations in full.

Business and Trade Committee evidence session, 6 … 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 915 days ago