Post Office Horizon compensation gaps
Limitations in the Post Office Horizon compensation process, specifically regarding the flexibility for claimants to revert to a Fixed Sum Offer.
143 items
3 sources
2 inquiries
Source spread
Where this theme appears
Post Office Horizon compensation gaps has been flagged across 3 independent accountability sources:
23 inquiry recs
119 committee recs
1 PHSO decision
When the same issue appears across inquiries, coroner reports, and regulators independently, it indicates a recurring issue across the public record.
Browse by source
Source-grouped records are useful for tracing where a concern came from. Large sections show the 50 strongest matches for that source; counts still show the full theme total.
Inquiry Recommendations (23)
POH-IR1-8 — Set agreed closing date for Horizon Shortfall Scheme applications
Recommendation: No applications for compensation to the Horizon Shortfall Scheme shall be entertained after such date as shall be agreed by the Minister, the Department for Business and Trade, the Post Office and the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board.
Gov response: Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation in part. The Department will discuss and agree a closing date with Post Office. The Advisory Board will be consulted before any closing date is notified to …
Accepted in Part
POH-IR1-7 — Amend Limitation Act to extend GLO deadline if needed
Recommendation: HM Government shall bring forward as soon as possible legislation amending section 11(3)(a) of the Limitation Act 1980 to allow payments of compensation under the GLO scheme to be made to applicants after midnight on 7 August 2024 if that …
Gov response: Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation in principle. The Department is determined to deliver the GLO scheme by August 2024 and will consider bringing forward legislation if the deadline appears to be at …
Accepted in Part
POH-IR1-6 — Publish proposals for equal tax treatment of compensation payments
Recommendation: DBT shall publish within 28 days of the publication of this report its proposals for ensuring that applicants to all schemes are treated equally and fairly in respect of liability to Income Tax, Capital Gains Tax, and Inheritance Tax on …
Gov response: Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation. Payments under the GLO scheme and overturned convictions are exempt from Income Tax, National Insurance contributions, and Capital Gains Tax. HSS claimants receive top-up payments that are …
Accepted
POH-IR1-5 — Seek court directions for GLO compensation in bankruptcy cases
Recommendation: DBT shall take such steps as are necessary within 28 days of the publication of this report to seek appropriate directions under section 306 of the Insolvency Act 1986 in respect of the dispute between Moore UK and the Department …
Gov response: Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation. The Department instructed counsel to submit a court application and made an expedited request. One postmaster will be named as an interested party in the proceedings to …
Accepted
POH-IR1-4 — Increase Advisory Board membership if needed for capacity
Recommendation: If the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board considers it necessary, the number of persons appointed to the Board should be increased so as to ensure that the Board has sufficient capacity to perform the functions set out above.
Gov response: Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation. The Department will keep under review the case for expanding the Board, in discussion with its current members, to ensure it has sufficient capacity to fulfil its …
Accepted
POH-IR1-3 — Make monitoring full and fair compensation a core Board duty
Recommendation: It must be one of the core duties of the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board that it monitors whether compensation payments are full and fair.
Gov response: Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation in part. The Department endorses the Board's view that it "would not be possible or advisable for us to intervene in individual cases" but has confirmed that …
Accepted in Part
POH-IR1-2 — Publish Advisory Board meeting reports within 21 days
Recommendation: The Horizon Compensation Advisory Board shall produce written reports in respect of each of their meetings in relation to each of the 3 schemes and publish the same within 21 days of the date of each meeting.
Gov response: Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation. Written reports are already being published and shall be issued within a week of each meeting unless the Board agrees otherwise.
Accepted
POH-IR1-1 — Allow Advisory Board to monitor individual compensation cases
Recommendation: The Horizon Compensation Advisory Board should not be prevented from monitoring individual cases in which compensation has been or is to be determined by paragraph 4 of its Terms of Reference.
Gov response: Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation in part. The Horizon Compensation Advisory Board shall consider whether "full and fair compensation is being paid out to applicants under the 3 schemes" and shall advise …
Accepted in Part
POH-10 — Clarify best offer principle in HSSA guidance with examples
Recommendation: The Department shall issue a supplementary document/announcement clarifying the meaning and intent of the "best offer" principle in the Horizon Shortfall Scheme Appeal (''HSSA'') process demonstrating how it is intended to operate in practice with appropriate examples, if thought necessary.
Gov response: Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation. DBT has updated the HSSA guidance to clarify the meaning and intent of the "best offer" principle, demonstrating how it is intended to operate in practice with …
Accepted
POH-9 — Allow HSS Fixed Sum acceptors to appeal with independent permission
Recommendation: The Department following consultation with the Advisory Board, claimants' representatives and any other persons or bodies it thinks appropriate, shall give urgent consideration to whether claimants who have accepted the Fixed Sum Offer in HSS should be afforded the opportunity …
Gov response: Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation. Following consultation with the Advisory Board, claimants' representatives and other relevant parties, claimants who have accepted the Fixed Sum Offer in HSS will have the opportunity to …
Accepted
In progress
POH-8 — Require HSS first offers match Independent Advisory Panel recommendation
Recommendation: In HSS the Post Office shall be obliged to make, and the Department shall be obliged to approve (when necessary) a first offer to a claimant which is no less than the sum recommended by the Independent Advisory Panel.
Gov response: Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation. In HSS the Post Office is obliged to make, and the Department obliged to approve (when necessary), first offers to claimants which are no less than the …
Accepted
POH-7 — Grant appropriate powers to HSS senior lawyer
Recommendation: The appointed person shall be given appropriate powers to ensure that these tasks can be performed and carried into effect. If it is considered necessary by the appointing authority, it should consult with the Advisory Board, Dentons, Sir Gary Hickinbottom, …
Gov response: Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation and has committed to consulting stakeholders to determine the appropriate powers for the appointed person. This consultation includes Sir Ross Cranston, the Advisory Board, claimants' representatives, Post …
Accepted
POH-6 — Appoint senior lawyer to ensure HSS offers are full and fair
Recommendation: A suitably qualified senior lawyer shall be appointed to HSS as soon as is practicable with the aim that any such appointee will take appropriate action to ensure that first offers to claimants (a) are "full and fair" (b) made …
Gov response: Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation. Sir Gary Hickinbottom has been appointed as HSS Senior Lawyer to ensure that first offers to claimants are "full and fair", made to those who have submitted …
Accepted
POH-5 — Allow 3-month window to accept Fixed Sum Offer after assessment
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 …
Gov response: Department 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 …
Accepted
POH-4 — Fund legal advice for HSS claimants before scheme choice
Recommendation: 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 …
Gov response: Department 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 …
Accepted in Part
In progress
POH-3 — Apply full and fair meaning consistently across all schemes
Recommendation: The Post Office, the Department and the Minister shall ensure that all decision makers in HSS, GLOS and OCS/HCRS apply the meaning to be given to the words "full and fair" when assessing the amounts to be awarded to individual …
Gov response: Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation. Both DBT and Post Office have agreed to apply the meaning to be given to the words "full and fair" as set out in the public statement …
Accepted
POH-2 — Define and publish meaning of full and fair financial redress
Recommendation: 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 …
Gov response: Department 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 …
Accepted
IR2-13 — Relationship with Support Schemes and Benefits
Recommendation: I recommend that, with regard to the relationship between compensation, support payments and benefits: a) in assessing compensation under the scheme, no account should be taken of any past payments made under the support schemes or their predecessors; b) the …
Gov response: As per recommendation 13 of the Second Interim Report, any payments made to those eligible under the Scheme will be exempt from income tax, capital gains tax, and inheritance tax. Any payments will also be …
Accepted
IR2-12 — Interim Payments for Bereaved Families
Recommendation: I recommend that an interim payment of £100,000 should be paid to recognise the deaths of people to date unrecognised and alleviate immediate suffering. This should be done as follows: a) where someone infected died as a child or died …
Gov response: The Government recognises that people have been waiting for too long to receive compensation and for justice to be delivered on this scandal. In order to provide financial support prior to the rollout of the …
Accepted
IR2-11 — Interest on Past Losses
Recommendation: I recommend that interest be payable on awards for past financial losses and past provision of care, from the date of infection to the date of the award, in accordance with the practice in personal injury damages claims; alternatively, that …
Gov response: With respect to recommendation 11 of the Second Interim Report, the compensation scheme aligns with the spirit of the recommendation regarding interest payable on past financial loss. The Scheme uses the rate of current median …
Accepted
IR2-10 — Form of Awards - Lump Sum and Periodical Payments
Recommendation: I recommend that: a) awards should be made in a lump sum in respect of an Injury Impact Award, Social Impact Award, Autonomy Award, and an award to compensate for past losses under the Care Award and Financial Loss Award …
Gov response: In line with recommendations 9 and 10 of the Second Interim Report, acceptance of an award does not require applicants to waive their right to pursue litigation. In defined circumstances, if an infected person's condition …
Accepted
IR2-1 — Scheme Eligibility - Infected and Affected Persons
Recommendation: I recommend that the scheme should offer redress to those infected with HCV and/or HIV, and/or HBV (limited to chronic HBV unless the infection has resulted in a fatality in the acute period), and to defined categories of persons indirectly …
Gov response: In accordance with recommendations 1 and 2 of the Second Interim Report, the Government is clear that both those who have been infected and affected by this scandal are eligible for compensation and is compensating …
Accepted
IR1-1 — Interim Compensation Payments
Recommendation: An interim payment, of no less than £100,000, should be paid to all those infected and all bereaved partners currently registered with any of the four UK infected blood support schemes, as well as those registering ahead of the inception …
Gov response: The Government accepted this recommendation on 17 August 2022. Interim payments of £100,000 were made to infected individuals and bereaved partners registered with UK infected blood support schemes beginning October 2022. By end of financial …
Accepted
Committee Recommendations (119) — showing 50 strongest matches
#29 —
Recommendation: We look forward to receiving estimates from BEIS of the total expected cost of the Horizon scandal and a full breakdown, including any costs paid by the Post Office Ltd. (POL) itself. We also look forward to seeing the Government’s …
Gov response: The information requested by the Committee is provided below. After the Committee’s 11 January hearing, on 2 February 2022, the Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets wrote to the Committee setting out costs …
Not Addressed
#28 —
Recommendation: We have recommended in this Report that the Government set up a properly resourced independent intermediary to assist sub-postmasters seeking to overturn convictions and seek compensation. We recommend that this same body should also be tasked with assisting sub-postmasters who …
Gov response: As noted in Recommendation 2, the Government is supportive of the intention behind the recommendation but is concerned that the time needed to set up such an independent body is likely to lead to additional …
Not Addressed
#27 —
Recommendation: We recommend that the Government liaise with the Post Office to establish how many of the 2,500 claimants have been offered support through the Scheme, at which point support was offered, if costs were covered, how much was paid on …
Gov response: The Post Office is committed to ensuring that all applicants to the Historical Shortfall Scheme are provided with adequate support throughout the application process, which is, of course, a sentiment shared by Government. An independent …
Not Addressed
#26 —
Recommendation: It is deeply troubling, given the historical nature of Horizon, its complexity as a flawed IT system and in many cases a lack of records, that some claimants seem 26 Post Office and Horizon - Compensationn interim report to be …
Gov response: The Government accepts the Committee’s recommendation and has agreed with the Post Office that it will publish this information on its website,3 subject to the caveats regarding privacy outlined below. This includes the information requested …
Accepted
#25 —
Recommendation: We ask the Government to confirm that the burden of proof should not rest solely with the claimant, not least because POL itself hasn’t kept appropriate records, including itemisation of which postmasters paid what amounts to individual suspense accounts. The …
Gov response: The Government accepts the Committee’s recommendation. The terms of the Historical Shortfall Scheme include provisions for those who do not have access to evidence to support their claim. The guidelines for the Historical Shortfall Scheme …
Not Addressed
#24 —
Recommendation: We recommend that POL shares details, with relevant examples, of how it takes the absence of information into account when it makes its initial recommendations for claims and how the Independent Panel reflects on such cases. We recommend that POL …
Gov response: The Government accepts the Committee’s recommendation. It is recognised that, due to the absence of records and the amount of time that has passed since losses were incurred, postmasters may face challenges in evidencing their …
Not Addressed
#23 —
Recommendation: The absence of records held by the Post Office Ltd. (POL) and other relevant organisations, such as HMRC, DWP and the Royal Mail Group, along with an absence of local suspense accounts for individual POL branches, raises serious questions as …
Gov response: The Government accepts the Committee’s recommendation.
Not Addressed
#22 —
Recommendation: It is worrying to hear that many of the claims awarded so far may be towards the low end of the compensation scale. To dispel any fears that Horizon victims are not being compensated fairly we recommend that the Government …
Gov response: The Government accepts the Committee’s recommendation. There have been 2,365 eligible claims to the Historical Shortfall Scheme. Each case is complex and unique, requiring specific examination of the details of the case and the circumstances …
Not Addressed
#21 —
Recommendation: We recommend that the Government ask POL to set out and share stretching monthly targets and outturns on how the backlog of claims is being addressed. We also recommend that BEIS and UKGI in their oversight role give monthly updates …
Gov response: The Government accepts the Committee’s recommendation. The Post Office has increased the capacity of the Independent Advisory Panel to deal with this and are now making good progress. At the 11 January 2002 Select Committee …
Not Addressed
#19 —
Recommendation: We are disappointed that so few claims have been processed by the Historic Shortfall Scheme considering it was closed over a year ago. The conclusion of only 30% of Post Office and Horizon - Compensationn interim report 25 claims does …
Gov response: The Government accepts the Committee’s recommendation.
Not Addressed
#16 —
Recommendation: We share concerns about the process by which claims to the Historic Shortfall Scheme are assessed and then reviewed by the Independent Panel. Bearing in mind that the Post Office (POL) bears a major part of the responsibility for the …
Gov response: The Government accepts the Committee’s recommendation.
Not Addressed
#15 —
Recommendation: It is imperative that any victim of the Horizon scandal receives compensation that puts them back in the position they would have been in had the scandal not occurred, whilst also taking accounting of the distress the scandal caused them. …
Gov response: The Government accepts the Committee’s recommendation.
Not Addressed
#14 —
Recommendation: In response to this report, POL and BEIS should provide details of who was consulted in drawing up the Scheme, what issues were raised by those consulted, and how those issues were addressed. We also recommend that POL and BEIS …
Gov response: The Government accepts the Committee’s recommendation.
Not Addressed
#13 —
Recommendation: Bearing in mind the nature of the Horizon scandal—including the deep mistrust of its victims of the Post Office Ltd. (POL), BEIS and UKGI, its historical nature and issues surrounding the availability of records and a flawed IT system—we would …
Gov response: The Government accepts the Committee’s recommendation.
Not Addressed
#12 —
Recommendation: We ask POL to explain how it ensures that the ADR process is fully independent from the Scheme, how many claimants have used it, and what the outcomes have been. We also recommend that the Government provide us with details …
Gov response: The Government accepts the Committee’s recommendation and has set out more detail on these points below. The Terms of Reference for the Historical Shortfall Scheme were developed by the Post Office in consultation with, and …
Not Addressed
#11 —
Recommendation: Offers to claimants should only be full and final where claimants have received independent advice and have exhausted their rights to recourse to the Historical Shortfall Scheme’s alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process. We ask the Government to seek clarity from …
Gov response: No rights are waived by postmasters in joining the Scheme. Agreement on the part of the postmaster that a settlement is full and final (meaning the postmaster cannot make any further claims against the Post …
Not Addressed
#10 —
Recommendation: In responding to this report, we expect the Government to explain how the Historic Shortfall Scheme differs from the HBOS Reading scheme and what safeguards have been built in to avoid the problems that the latter scheme experienced.
Gov response: The Government is aware that Herbert Smith Freehills was employed by Lloyds Banking Group to provide legal support in relation to the HBOS Reading compensation process. We are also aware that the All-Party Parliamentary Group …
Not Addressed
#8 —
Recommendation: We recommend that the Government provides regular updates when compensation is refused for sub-postmasters who have had their convictions overturned, the reasons for this and if subsequent compensation is sought and awarded. The Government should ensure that POL provide us …
Gov response: Further information is provided below in response to the Committee’s requests. Interim compensation payments of up to £100,000 are available to postmasters who meet the following criteria: i) their Horizon-related conviction has been overturned by …
Not Addressed
#7 —
Recommendation: We are concerned that some sub-postmasters have been denied interim compensation payments despite having had their convictions overturned. The Post Office Ltd. (POL) and the Minister noted that this is because the reliability of Horizon evidence is not central to …
Gov response: Further information is provided below in response to the Committee’s requests. Interim compensation payments of up to £100,000 are available to postmasters who meet the following criteria: i) their Horizon-related conviction has been overturned by …
Not Addressed
#6 —
Recommendation: We recommend that the Government provides monthly updates on the number of interim payments made, the number of final payments made, and the range of Post Office and Horizon - Compensationn interim report 23 amounts paid out to reach full, …
Gov response: The Government accepts the Committee’s recommendation and has agreed with the Post Office that it will publish this information on its website,3 subject to the caveats regarding privacy outlined below. This includes the information requested …
Not Addressed
#5 —
Recommendation: The Government must confirm how long it expects it to take for final settlements to be made to sub-postmasters after they have received their interim payments. The Government should set out what criteria they are using to determine final payments, …
Gov response: The Post Office aims to make offers for an interim payment within 28 days of an eligible claim being received. All 66 of the interim payment offers made as of 31 March 2022 occurred within …
Not Addressed
#4 —
Recommendation: We recommend that the Government urgently set up an independent intermediary body as a trusted first point of contact for those wrongly convicted because of Horizon, in particular for the 576 convicted sub-postmasters who have not yet come forward. The …
Gov response: Although supportive of the intent behind the recommendation, the Government does not propose to set up a new independent body to undertake these functions. The Government is keen to see work to trace and support …
Not Addressed
#3 —
Recommendation: We are deeply concerned that, despite the efforts that the Post Office Ltd. (POL) has made to contact them, so few sub-postmasters have approached POL to begin the process of overturning ‘unsafe’ Horizon convictions. POL has conceded that this might …
Gov response: Although supportive of the intent behind the recommendation, the Government does not propose to set up a new independent body to undertake these functions. The Government is keen to see work to trace and support …
Not Addressed
#2 —
Recommendation: We demand that the Government as a matter of urgency commit to ensuring that the 555 are fully compensated for all of their losses on the same basis as other victims of this scandal receiving compensation. (Paragraph 17) Prosecuted Sub-postmasters …
Gov response: The Government has acted on this issue. The Government announced on 22 March 2022 that it will make funding available to ensure postmasters who took part in the Group Litigation Order (GLO) case are not …
Not Addressed
#1 —
Recommendation: We are deeply disappointed that the 555 group action litigants, who took the Post Office Ltd. (POL) to court and who exposed the Horizon scandal, should be worse off than other victims of Horizon who would otherwise not be in …
Gov response: The Government has acted on this issue. The Government announced on 22 March 2022 that it will make funding available to ensure postmasters who took part in the Group Litigation Order (GLO) case are not …
Not Addressed
#18 —
Recommendation: Between 1997 and 2000 the Post Office implemented a new IT system called Horizon. This system is now known to be responsible for accounting discrepancies that suggested, for example, shortfalls of cash in Post Office branches.62 At the time, the …
Gov response: 6.4 The Horizon scandal has had a devastating impact on postmasters and their families. It is right that affected postmasters are properly compensated and, without government funding, the compensation would have been unaffordable to Post …
Not Addressed
#6 —
Recommendation: The Post Office’s mismanagement of its Horizon programme has had devastating consequences for individuals wrongly accused of fraud. The financial cost of compensating these individuals will largely fall to the public purse. The Horizon accounting system erroneously recorded shortfalls of …
Gov response: 6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 6.2 Over the past decade, the government has provided over £2.5 billion in funding to support the Post Office network. The government is providing a …
Accepted
#29 —
Recommendation: The Department must ensure it understands the extent of the problem. Therefore, it must urgently investigate the number of potential cases relating to Post Office pre-Horizon IT systems to judge whether there has been a further mass miscarriage of justice. …
Response Pending
#28 —
Recommendation: Post Office Ltd must learn from past mistakes and should think carefully before opposing appeals against pre-Horizon convictions. (Recommendation, Paragraph 80)
Response Pending
#27 —
Recommendation: The Government should bring forward legislation to quash Capture-related convictions, as it did for those relating to the Horizon IT system in 2024. (Recommendation, Paragraph 79)
Response Pending
#26 —
Recommendation: Given the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC)’s revelations about (a) cases involving software other than Capture and Horizon, and (b) the difficulties in compiling the necessary information in many historical cases relating to Capture and other IT systems used by …
Response Pending
#25 —
Recommendation: We are concerned by emerging evidence that bugs in pre-Horizon IT systems, and/or failures of disclosure and investigation in these cases, may have contributed to unsafe convictions. Although the number of confirmed Capture-related cases is currently small, incomplete records mean …
Response Pending
#15 —
Recommendation: We deplore the poor historical state of record keeping by the Ministry of Justice, Post Office Ltd, the Crown Prosecution Service and Royal Mail Group. Action must be taken to mitigate the risk that individuals eligible to have their convictions …
Response Pending
#13 —
Recommendation: Every eligible, wrongly convicted applicant to HCRS now has a right to at least £600,000 in compensation. The Government must immediately take the compassionate act of making this payment upfront to all those eligible as soon as possible, regardless of …
Response Pending
#12 —
Recommendation: The Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS) appears to be working well for overall for claimants who have had their convictions overturned, but unnecessary delays remain. We welcome the positive change for claimants that now have a basic safeguard in the …
Response Pending
#10 —
Recommendation: The Government has not properly implemented Sir Wyn Williams’s recommendation to provide legal advice for HSS claimants. Sub- postmasters have already waited far too long for the redress they are owed. Requiring sub-postmasters to progress through the HSS without 39 …
Response Pending
#3 —
Recommendation: Post Office Ltd and the Government must make every effort to ensure that outstanding offers are issued and remaining claims are fully settled. Without exerting pressure on vulnerable claimants, we recommend that every effort be made to ensure that all …
Response Pending
#1 —
Recommendation: We welcome the significant progress that has been made since our last report in delivering redress. We recognise that payment rates have improved across all schemes. However, we regret that thousands of sub- postmasters are still waiting for the full …
Response Pending
#22 —
Recommendation: The Horizon IT system used by sub postmasters and subpostmistresses erroneously recorded shortfalls of cash in local Post Office branches over a 20-year period. The Post Office blamed many of the shortfalls on sub postmasters and sub postmistresses, despite it …
Gov response: 7. PAC conclusion: Victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal continue to suffer as they await compensation due. 7. PAC recommendation: The Department should write to the Committee alongside its Treasury Minute response to provide …
Accepted
#7 — Post Office Horizon scandal victims still awaiting full and timely compensation.
Recommendation: Victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal continue to suffer as they await compensation due. The Horizon accounting system erroneously recorded shortfalls of cash in local Post Office branches over its more than 20-year lifetime. The Post Office blamed many …
Gov response: The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented The government is working hard to ensure fair compensation is delivered to the postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal as quickly as possible. Under the Historical …
Accepted
#4 — Require Post Office full disclosures and introduce independent appeals mechanism for sub-postmasters.
Recommendation: To ensure that offers of redress are fast and fair, the Government must: (Paragraph 16) a) Require full disclosures by the Post Office of the information needed to submit full and fair claims within legally binding timeframes; b) publish a …
Gov response: Taking these points in turn: a) This is covered in the response above to recommendation 2; b) Many of the postmasters’ claims are understandably complex. The most substan-tial tend to relate to financial impacts such …
Partially Accepted
#3 — Introduce legal timeframes in legislation to deliver sub-postmaster redress and simplify evidential requirements.
Recommendation: To correct the abject failure to deliver timely redress for sub-postmasters, the Government must include in its forthcoming legislation legal timeframes to deliver redress to sub-postmasters. Those targets should include binding timeframes for each stage of a compensation claim, with …
Gov response: The Government is providing very timely responses to claims for redress by members of the GLO. As of 24 April, 177 claims had been submitted and 146 of them had been settled. Only 10 claims …
Not Accepted
#2 — Remove Post Office from redress delivery and establish an independent intermediary for sub-postmasters.
Recommendation: The Government must immediately remove the Post Office from any involvement in delivering redress for sub-postmasters and the Government should set out to the Committee how it proposes to deliver swift and effective redress for sub-postmasters, and in what legally …
Gov response: Decisions on redress cases in all three schemes are already independent of the Post Office. • In the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS), decisions are made by an independent panel comprising a KC, an accountant and …
Not Accepted
#17 — Publish clear, regular transparency report detailing external legal costs across all redress schemes.
Recommendation: The Department should publish a regular transparency report detailing external legal costs incurred under all schemes. It is important that the report is produced in a manner that minimises the potential for wider confusion about the basis under which legal …
Gov response: • The Department is happy to commit to publishing these data on a quarterly basis. • We have previously been providing regular updates to the Select Committee on spend across schemes, including on external legal …
Accepted
#16 — Introduce binding timeframes and financial penalties for Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme administrators.
Recommendation: The Government must introduce binding timeframes for administrators at each stage of the process under the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme, with financial penalties awarded to the claimant if these deadlines are not met. As with the Horizon Shortfall Scheme and …
Gov response: • For the reasons given in response to recommendation 11, the Government does not accept this recommendation.
Not Accepted
#15 — Ensure Horizon Conviction Redress Scheme full assessments never offer less than fixed-sum.
Recommendation: The Department should act swiftly to remove the fear factor from the Horizon Conviction Redress Scheme, ensuring that the redress offered under a full assessment settlement is never valued at below the optional fixed- sum redress which was initially available …
Gov response: • The Government does not accept this recommendation. • There is no timeframe within which an applicant needs to decide whether they should accept the fixed sum or pursue a detailed claim assessment. • In …
Not Accepted
#14 — Require plan to notify all eligible postmasters and provide monthly Horizon redress scheme data.
Recommendation: While it is reassuring that the Government have put a timeframe on completing eligibility checks, we are concerned that some individuals may never know of their right to redress. The lack of data published means it is difficult for the …
Gov response: • The Government does not accept this recommendation. • Since July 2024, individuals who have had their convictions quashed by the Act have been notified via a letter from the Ministry of Justice. In this …
Not Accepted
#13 — Ensure Group Litigation Order claimant offers are at or above top-end redress bands.
Recommendation: The Department should ensure that offers to claimants are delivered at or above the top-end of the illustrative redress bands and guidance established under the guidance and principles of the Group Litigation Order scheme. Further requests for information should only …
Gov response: • The Government does not accept this recommendation. • Requests for information are intended to enable the Department to increase its offers to claimants, including where there is a reasonable concern about the basis of …
Not Accepted
#12 — Grant Independent Reviewer greater powers to case manage Group Litigation Order claims.
Recommendation: It is disappointing that the Department does not believe the Independent Reviewer should be given a greater role in the Group Litigation Order Scheme, despite the former Post Office Minister confessing that it was a mistake not to do so. …
Gov response: • The Government does not accept this recommendation. • The Department recognises that there is a greater role for the Case Management function to play in the GLO Scheme. The Case Management function within the …
Not Accepted
#11 — Introduce binding timeframes for Group Litigation Order claims, with financial penalties for delays.
Recommendation: The Committee welcomes that the majority of first offers for the Group Litigation Order Scheme will be complete by March 2025. This, however, does not address the time it takes between first offer and final payment. Sub-postmasters have waited long …
Gov response: • The Government partially accepts this recommendation. • The Government inherited a Group Litigation Order Scheme which has similarly been criticised for being too legalistic. The Government has undertaken to respond to the Advisory Board’s …
Partially Accepted