Source · Select Committees · Business and Trade Committee
Recommendation 26
26
Paragraph: 66
It is deeply troubling, given the historical nature of Horizon, its complexity as a flawed...
Conclusion
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 preparing claims and accepting offers without appropriate legal and forensic accounting support. If claimants accept offers that have not fully covered their losses, this in itself is a scandal, and justice will not be done.
Paragraph Reference:
66
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
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 on interim payments and will be updated on a monthly basis. The Post Office has also committed to sharing the latest management information data with the Select Committee each month to enable the Committee to continue to track progress. To ensure privacy for the claimants, the range of amounts paid for final settlements will only be made available once a critical mass of settlements has been reached. Immediate publication of settlement details could jeopardise the privacy of individual claimants. 3 httpsn//corporate.postoffice.co.uk/en/historical-matters/historical-matters-progress/historical-convictions-and- compensation-information-on-progress/ Recommendation 5: 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 with details of the mediation for those seeking compensation after overturning a conviction, including the process, how independence is achieved, the numbers using it, and what the outcomes have been. We also recommend that BEIS explains its role in signing off this mediation process and the nature of the oversight that it and UK Government Investments (UKGI) are providing.