Recommendation POH-5: Allow 3-month window to accept Fixed Sum Offer after assessment
From Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry: Volume 1 Report, published 8 July 2025.
Recommendation
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.
In brief (written by this site)
The Inquiry recommended a three-month window to accept a fixed sum offer after assessment. In a February 2026 update published in March 2026, the Cabinet Office stated that the recommendation was implemented on 9 October 2025 for the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS) and the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS), and that the Post Office was reviewing records to notify eligible claimants, while the Group Litigation Order Scheme (GLOS) was not mentioned (Cabinet Office, Mar 2026). Earlier, in January 2026, the Business and Trade Select Committee noted the measure had been implemented for HSS and HCRS, and found that over 4,000 claimants across all schemes were still awaiting final settlement (Business and Trade Select Committee, Jan 2026).
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.
About this summary
This recommendation applies across many organisations. The record reflects central policy activity; adoption in individual organisations may vary.
Government response
From 9 October, 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 is already in receipt of a first offer but has not yet accepted this will also be eligible to revert to the Fixed Sum Offer within 3 months of today’s date. DBT is working with the Post Office and claimants’ representatives to ensure claimants are appropriately notified of this.
Delivery
Cabinet Office says completed (2 March 2026)
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.
From: Post Office (Horizon) Inquiry Recommendations Dashboard, February 2026 (data file)
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 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.
Source
Responsible bodies
Themes and tags
Who has spoken
- Department for Business and Trade
Response - Cabinet Office
Delivery statement