Recommendation POH-1: Respond to recommendations by 10 October 2025
From Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry: Volume 1 Report, published 8 July 2025.
Recommendation
HM Government and/or the Department and where appropriate the Post Office and Fujitsu shall provide written responses to my recommendations by 10 October 2025.
In brief (written by this site)
The Inquiry asked the government, Post Office, and Fujitsu to respond by October 2025. In an update of February 2026, published in March 2026, Cabinet Office recorded that the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) fulfilled the recommendation by publishing its October 2025 response (Cabinet Office, Mar 2026). In January 2026, the Business and Trade Select Committee noted the government met the requirement by publishing its response (Business and Trade Select Committee, Jan 2026). In October 2025, Nigel Railton, Chair of Post Office Limited, submitted its response, while Morrison Foerster (UK) LLP, solicitors for Fujitsu Services Limited, stated it would not respond to recommendations 2 to 18 (Nigel Railton response, Oct 2025; Morrison Foerster (UK) LLP for Fujitsu Services Limited response, Oct 2025). That month, Blair McDougall, Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation, stated the department's full response will be laid as a Command Paper after the final inquiry volume is issued (Blair McDougall, Oct 2025).
Sources
AI-generated summary of the record on this page, checked by a second model and automatic checks, 5 Oct 2026. The record below is the sources' own words.
Government response
Fujitsu notes that Recommendation 1 invites Fujitsu, where appropriate, to provide written responses to the Chair's recommendations by 10 October 2025. Recommendations 2 to 18 of the Volume 1 Report relate to the scope and operation of the redress schemes currently administered by Post Office Limited ("Post Office") and the Department for Business and Trade ("DBT") (namely, the Horizon Shortfall Scheme, Group Litigation Order Scheme, Overturned Convictions Scheme and Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme). Given that Fujitsu has no involvement in either the design or delivery of these schemes, Fujitsu does not consider it appropriate to provide written responses in respect of Recommendations 2 to 18 at this time.
How this response relates to the recommendation
Site note: This letter was written to the Inquiry by Morrison Foerster (UK) LLP, solicitors for Fujitsu Services Limited, on 9 October 2025. It states Fujitsu's position, speaking of Fujitsu in the third person, so the site files it under Fujitsu.
This letter constitutes Post Office's response under Recommendation 1. We make the following observations in respect of the other recommendations that we have collaborated on.
DBT accepts this recommendation and has fulfilled it by publishing this paper today.
Delivery
Cabinet Office says completed (2 March 2026)
DBT accepted this recommendation and fulfilled it through the publication of the Department’s response to Volume 1 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report on 9 October 2025. The full response can be found on GOV.UK at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-response-to-the-post-office-horizon-it-inquiry-report-volume-1
From: Post Office (Horizon) Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard, February 2026 (data file)
Department for Business and Trade says partially delivered (9 October 2025)
The Department's full response to the report will be laid as a Command Paper, once the Inquiry has issued its final volume.
Published evidence
Published findings referenced by inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Source type badge indicates whether the finding is independent or government self-reported. Each finding is this site's summary of what the source found, with a link to the source; this site does not add its own progress rating.
Summary by this site of the published finding
Business and Trade Select Committee noted the government published its formal response to the inquiry on 9 October 2025, meeting the requirement in this recommendation.
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.
Source
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Fujitsu
Response - Post Office Ltd
Response - Department for Business and Trade
Response, delivery statement - Cabinet Office
Delivery statement