Define and publish meaning of full and fair financial redress
The Minister and/or the Department in conjunction with the Post Office shall make a public announcement explaining what is meant by the phrase "full and fair financial redress". Such an explanation should indicate that claimants should be awarded sums which are equivalent to those which they would receive in civil litigation brought before a judge in England and Wales, assuming that the judge hearing the civil claims awarded damages at the top end of the appropriate range of damages. The explanation should also include a statement to the effect that, if fairness demands it in a particular case, a decision maker may depart from the established legal principles which would normally govern the assessment of damages in civil litigation.
How was this assessed?
Response
Accepted
Response
AcceptedDepartment for Business and Trade accepts the Inquiry's recommendation and has published a statement explaining what is meant by the phrase "full and fair financial redress". The statement indicates that claimants should be awarded sums which are equivalent to those which they would receive in civil litigation brought before a judge in England and Wales, assuming that the judge hearing the civil claims awarded damages at the top end of the appropriate range of damages. The statement also includes that, if fairness demands it in a particular case, a decision maker may depart from the established legal principles which would normally govern the assessment of damages in civil litigation.
Progress Timeline
DBT accepted the Inquiry's recommendation that it should publish a statement explaining the term "full and fair redress": https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-office-horizon-it-inquiry-statement-on-full-and-fair-financial-redress. This was published on 9 October 2025 alongside the Department's response to Volume 1 of the Inquiry report.
Verification: Government published formal response to Volume 1 recommendations on 13 October 2025, accepting 17 of 18 recommendations. Total compensation paid across all schemes: £1.38 billion as of December 2025. Volume 2 of Final Report expected 2026.
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.
Business and Trade Select Committee noted the government published a statement defining "full and fair redress" on 9 October 2025. The committee examined whether this definition was being applied consistently across all three compensation schemes.
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.