Fund legal advice for HSS claimants before scheme choice
All claimants in HSS shall be entitled to obtain legal advice funded by the Department prior to choosing between accepting the Fixed Sum Offer or seeking financial redress which is assessed. The remuneration for such advice shall be in accordance with a scale of fees commensurate with the scale which is operative in GLOS.
How was this assessed?
Response
Accepted in Part
Response
Accepted in PartDepartment for Business and Trade broadly accepts this recommendation. Rather than providing upfront legal advice, DBT provides funding for legal advice at the appeal permission stage. Additionally, an information support service has been established which explains scheme options, claim details, loss categories, and considerations around expert evidence to claimants before they make decisions.
Progress Timeline
DBT accepted this recommendation. As detailed in the Government's response, the Department will provide funding for legal advice at the point at which the claimant chooses between accepting the Fixed Sum Offer or seeking individually assessed redress by seeking permission to appeal under Recommendation 9. Separate to the provision of legal advice, DBT has put in place an information and support service to help claimants apply for redress, which opened on 9 December 2025. Further information about this service can be found at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-support-from-the-information-and-support-service. Further information on the process for requesting permission to appeal an HSS Fixed Sum offer will be published in due course.
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.
HC 1598 concluded the government has not properly implemented Sir Wyn Williams's recommendation to provide legal advice for HSS claimants. Legal advice is funded only at the HSSA appeal stage, not upfront as recommended. The committee recommended that any eligible individual currently going through the HSS who has not yet settled should also be entitled to funded legal advice.
View detailed findings
Business and Trade Committee HC 1598 (13 March 2026) examined redress delivery one year on. Key findings: £1.44bn paid to 11,300+ claimants but thousands still waiting. HSS takes 143 days average for fixed-sum offers (target: 30 days) and 450 days for assessed claims (target: 180 days). Total redress bill now approximately £2bn. Fujitsu has contributed nothing. Committee made 29 formal conclusions and recommendations across redress schemes, quashed convictions, Fujitsu contribution, and pre-Horizon (Capture) IT system concerns.
Business and Trade Select Committee noted the government provides funded legal advice at appeal stage rather than upfront as recommended. The committee questioned whether this departure from the recommendation disadvantaged claimants during initial assessments.
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.