Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 7
7
Accepted
Post Office Horizon scandal victims still awaiting full and timely compensation.
Conclusion
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 of these shortfalls on sub postmasters and sub postmistresses, despite it being the Horizon system that was at fault. Staff were dismissed, the Post Office took action to attempt to recover the ‘losses’, and in some cases criminal prosecutions were pursued and people were wrongly convicted. The Department 8 Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Annual Report and Accounts 2021–22 expects to provide £579 million to the Post Office so that it can compensate victims of the Horizon scandal while continuing to operate as a going concern. Through one of two compensation schemes, the Department stated that 90% of compensation offers (not payments) had been made by mid-November 2022; however, recent media reports have indicated some victims receiving only partial payments and still being owed huge sums. The Department described these as the most challenging cases involving bankruptcy or insolvency, and said that it was taking professional advice. Recommendation 7: The Department should write to the Committee alongside its Treasury Minute response to provide details of the total value of payments made to date and the proportion of the total payments that this represents. This should be for both the Historical Shortfall and Historical Convictions schemes and indicate when it expects all claims to be settled. Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy Annual Report and Accounts 2021–22 9 1 Effective Parliamentary and public scrutiny
Government Response Summary
The government agrees and provides detailed payment figures for both the Historical Shortfall Scheme (HSS) and overturned convictions as of 30 May 2023. It states 2,401 HSS offers have been issued totalling £98.7m (net) with 1,965 payments made totalling £67.7m, and expects remaining HSS offers by end of July. For overturned convictions, over £18.8m has been paid out in total.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
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 Shortfall Scheme (HSS), as of 30 May 2023, 2,401 offers (over 99%) have now been issued to the original cohort of claimants, totalling £98.7million(net), with 16 offers outstanding. The Post Office expects to issue offers in the remaining cases by the end of July, but this is dependent on information from third parties. 1,965 payments have been made totalling £67.7million (net), meaning over 81% have received payments. This includes £8.7million in interim payments. Total payments will not be known until all cases have been settled. The Post Office has also issued 60 offers to late applicants to the HSS and made 22 payments totalling £320,000; it continues to receive and process late claims. In addition, DBT is preparing to provide further funding to correct an issue relating to tax treatment for some HSS payments. For overturned convictions, as of 30 May 2023, the Post Office has made 80 initial interim payments totalling over £8.1million, out of 86 convictions overturned so far. It has settled 55 non-pecuniary claims, including one subject to a pending probate arrangement, and made offers for a further 13 non-pecuniary claims. The Post Office has settled 4 pecuniary claims, meaning it has reached full and final settlements with 4 postmasters. The total compensation paid out by Post Office to those with overturned convictions is over £18.8 million. Post Office encourages postmasters to continue to submit their claims, and once received will review these as quickly as possible.