Select Committee · Business and Trade Committee

Post Office and Horizon - Compensation: follow-up

Status: Closed Opened: 9 Jan 2024 Closed: 24 May 2024 3 recommendations 1 report

MPs quiz the Government and other stakeholders on what more can be done to deliver full, fair and fast compensation for victims of the scandal, which has been labelled the worst miscarriage of justice in British history. MPs hear from Nick Read, Chief Executive of the Post Office, and Paul Patterson, Chief Executive for Europe …

Reports

1 report

Title	HC No.	Published	Items	Response
Third Report - Post Office and Horizon redress: Instruction…	HC 477	7 Mar 2024	3	Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

3 items

2 Recommendation Third Report - Post Office and Horizon … Rejected

Remove Post Office from redress delivery and establish an independent intermediary for sub-postmasters.

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 binding timeframes. We repeat the Committee’s recommendation that the Government …

Government response. The government rejects the recommendation to immediately remove the Post Office from redress delivery, stating decisions are already independent and such a move would cause significant delays and costs. It also asserts postmasters already have access to legal and expert …

Department for Business and Trade

3 Recommendation Third Report - Post Office and Horizon … Rejected

Introduce legal timeframes in legislation to deliver sub-postmaster redress and simplify evidential requirements.

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 financial penalties awarded to the claimant for failure to meet …

Government response. The government rejects implementing legal timeframes and financial penalties, asserting that initial offers are already timely and penalties would not speed up the process. Instead, it details existing efforts and new financial incentives, such as the £600k fixed offer and …

Department for Business and Trade

4 Recommendation Third Report - Post Office and Horizon … Accepted in Part

Require Post Office full disclosures and introduce independent appeals mechanism for sub-postmasters.

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 standardised tariff of damages to help sub-postmasters claim the full …

Government response. The government rejects a standardized damages tariff and a blanket removal of the legal expenses cap, citing existing measures or unsuitability, while deferring a decision on allowing settled claims to be revisited and introducing an independent appeals mechanism, and cross-referencing …

Department for Business and Trade

Oral evidence sessions

2 sessions

Date	Witnesses
27 Feb 2024	Alan Bates · Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, Ben Tidswell · Post Office, Carl Creswell · Department for Business and Trade, Dr Neil Hudgell · Hudgell Solicitors, Henry Staunton, James Hartley · Freeths, Mark Chesher · Addleshaw Goddard, Nick Read · Post Office, Rob Francis · Dentons, Ross Cranston · Post Office GLO Scheme, Simon Oldnall · Post Office, Simon Recaldin · Post Office, Tim Brentnall, Tony Downey	View ↗
16 Jan 2024	Alan Bates · Justice for Subpostmasters Alliance, Carl Creswell · Department for Business and Trade, Carl Creswell · Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Dr Neil Hudgell · Hudgell Solicitors, Jo Hamilton, former sub-postmistress, Kevin Hollinrake MP · Department for Business and Trade, Nick Read · Post Office, Paul Patterson · Fujitsu Services Ltd, The Rt Hon. the Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom	View ↗

Correspondence

37 letters

Date	Direction	Title
30 Apr 2024	To cttee	Letter from the Remediation Unit Director at the Post Office relating to tariff…
23 Apr 2024	To cttee	Letter from the Senior Independent Director at the Post Office relating to an i…
23 Apr 2024	To cttee	Letter from the Non-Executive Director at the Post Office relating to the Speak…
23 Apr 2024	To cttee	Letter from Jane Davies (former Group Chief People Officer at POL) relating to …
23 Apr 2024	To cttee	Letter from Henry Staunton relating to points raised during the Post Office evi…
26 Mar 2024	To cttee	Letter from the Director of Business Resilience at the Department for Business …
26 Mar 2024	To cttee	Letter from the Non-Executive Director at the Post Office relating to Remunerat…
19 Mar 2024	From cttee	Letter to the Non-Executive Director at the Post Office relating to Remuneratio…
19 Mar 2024	To cttee	Letter from the Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business relating to…
19 Mar 2024	To cttee	Letter from the Chief Executive at the Post Office relating to issues raised in…
14 Mar 2024	From cttee	Letter to the Director of Business Resiliance at DBT relating to GLO claimant o…
12 Mar 2024	From cttee	Letter to the Senior Independent Director at the Post Office relating to a requ…
5 Mar 2024	To cttee	Letter from the Senior Independent Director at the Post Office relating to Hori…
5 Mar 2024	From cttee	Letter to the Senior Independent Director at the Post Office relating to a requ…
5 Mar 2024	To cttee	Letter from the Chief Executive at the Post Office relating to remarks made at …
5 Mar 2024	To cttee	Letter from Henry Staunton relating to the Post Office and Horizon, 1 March 2024
5 Mar 2024	From cttee	Letter to the Senior Independent Director at the Post Office relating to a requ…
5 Mar 2024	To cttee	Letter from the Director of Business Resilience at the Department relating to H…
5 Mar 2024	To cttee	Letter from the Senior Independent Director at the Post Office relating to a re…
5 Mar 2024	To cttee	Letter from Henry Staunton relating to a clarification of remarks made to the C…