Allow 3-month window to accept Fixed Sum Offer after assessment
Any claimant who opts to have a claim assessed when the claim is submitted to the Post Office or the Department may decide to accept the Fixed Sum Offer at any time thereafter up to and including the date which is three calendar months following the receipt by the claimant of a first assessed offer. For the avoidance of any doubt, (1) this recommendation applies to all relevant schemes i.e. HSS, OCS/HCRS and GLOS and (2) once the time period specified in the first sentence hereof has expired, the claimant will have no right to accept the Fixed Sum Offer.
- The Department for Business and Trade accepted this recommendation on 9 October 2025 and implemented it from that date, giving HSS and HCRS claimants three months from receipt of their first detailed offer to revert to the Fixed Sum Offer (Government response to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report (volume 1), DBT, 9 October 2025).
- The Business and Trade Select Committee noted the three-month window had been implemented from 9 October 2025 (Business and Trade Select Committee evidence session, January 2026).
How was this evidence gathered?
Response
Accepted
Response
AcceptedDepartment for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation. From 9 October, claimants to HSS and HCRS will have 3 months from receipt of their first detailed assessed offer to revert to accepting the Fixed Sum Offer. Notification is being coordinated to ensure all claimants are aware of this change. For the avoidance of any doubt, this applies to all relevant schemes: HSS, OCS/HCRS and GLOS.
Progress Timeline
This recommendation was implemented on 9 October 2025. Claimants to the HSS and HCRS will have 3 months from receipt of their first detailed offer to revert to the Fixed Sum Offer, should they wish. Any claimant who was already in receipt of a first offer but had not yet accepted this became eligible to revert to the Fixed Sum Offer within three months of 9 October 2025. Post Office are also reviewing their claimant records to ensure that any claimant who became eligible to revert to the Fixed Sum Offer has been written to, to inform them of this right.
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 progress from inspectorates, select committees, official progress reports, and other sources. Source type badge indicates whether each assessment is independent or government self-reported.
Business and Trade Select Committee noted the 3-month window for claimants to revert to the Fixed Sum Offer had been implemented from 9 October 2025 in HSS and HCRS.
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.