Recommendation 5

HM Government Not Addressed

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 28 days. A few payments were, however, delayed in complex cases where a postmaster had died or was made bankrupt; however, these have all now been resolved. Final compensation settlements are determined through individual negotiations between the claimants’ legal representatives and the Post Office. The length of time this will take depends upon how long it takes claimants’ advisers to submit their claims and to reach a settlement agreement with the Post Office’s legal representatives. BEIS, with support from UKGI, has full visibility of this process. The Post Office is committed to moving these negotiations forward as quickly as practicable and is working with the first two postmasters whose legal representatives have submitted a fully quantified claim. The Government is working to support this process in whatever way it can. Final compensation payments will be determined on a case-by-case basis. When responding to claims, the Post Office is using a set of legal principles prepared following legal advice and with input from BEIS and UKGI based on current case law; they will be updated as necessary. These principles will inform the offers made in response to claims and the approach adopted when compensating specific heads of loss and assessing the available evidence. The principles will support a consistent approach to determining postmasters’ settlements while still allowing the flexibility needed to take into account each individual postmaster’s particular circumstances. This will help ensure that fair compensation is paid (while appropriately stewarding public funding) and claims are settled as quickly as possible. All compensation will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and payments made in response to claims for pecuniary losses, both direct and consequential, which may include loss of past and future earnings, alleged shortfalls and other costs incurred; as well as claims for non-pecuniary losses such as mental distress, personal injury, injury to reputation and loss of liberty. It is anticipated that payments will also be made in respect of interest and to address tax liabilities.