Select committee: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee
Recommendation 11
1st Report - Post Office and Horizon scandal redress: Unfinished business
Published 1 Jan 2025
Addressed to Department for Business and Trade
Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee Post Office Horizon scandal: fast and fair redress All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
The Committee welcomes that the majority of first offers for the Group Litigation Order Scheme will be complete by March 2025. This, however, does not address the time it takes between first offer and final payment. Sub-postmasters have waited long enough. The Government should aim wherever possible to complete Group Litigation Order redress claims by March 2025 as suggested to us in evidence from Sir Alan Bates. We know that this will not be possible for some claims due to the complexity of the claim or the vulnerability of claimants, so the Government must introduce binding timeframes at each stage of Group Litigation Order Scheme, with financial penalties awarded to the claimant if these timeframes are not met. As with the Horizon Shortfall Scheme, timeframes should only be imposed on the Government side, giving the sub-postmaster ample time to consider their position. (Recommendation, Paragraph 43)
From: Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Committee, 1st Report - Post Office and Horizon scandal redress: Unfinished business (HC 341), 1 January 2025
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 25 March 2025 (deadline 1 March 2025).