Select committee: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee
Recommendation 28
Eighth Report - Post Office and Horizon - Compensation: interim report
Published 17 Feb 2022
Paragraph 69
Addressed to Department for Business and Trade
Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee Post Office and Horizon All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
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 are accessing the Historic Shortfall Scheme. This should include providing claimants with access to forensic accountants and legal experts who can offer advice to help ensure that claims are as robust as possible, that offers take account of all the losses suffered and that claimants do not suffer significant detriment because records have not been kept by the Post Office or other relevant organisations.
From: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee, Eighth Report - Post Office and Horizon - Compensation: interim report (HC 1129), paragraph 69, 17 February 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 27 April 2022 (deadline 17 April 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government accepts several of the Committee's recommendations on transparency and the Historical Shortfall Scheme, but does not propose to set up the recommended new independent body for wrongly convicted postmasters.
- On the 555 group litigants, the government says it "will make funding available" so they are "not financially disadvantaged" by litigating, and will announce the results of informal consultation to Parliament "in the coming weeks".
- On an independent body, it is "concerned that setting up such a body would take significant time". It is instead working with existing bodies such as the CCRC, and has encouraged the Post Office to appoint an intermediary body.
- It "accepts" the recommendation on monthly updates on payments, to be published on the Post Office website, with the range of final settlement amounts released only once "a critical mass of settlements has been reached" for privacy reasons.
- On targets for Historical Shortfall Scheme offers, it accepts the recommendation but suggests BEIS updates on oversight actions "on a quarterly, rather than monthly basis".