Post Office Horizon Inquiry: Volume 1
Lords Chamber
Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry. Read indexed debates, questions, statements and early day motions, with links to the original parliamentary records.
Lords Chamber
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have assessed Fujitsu for exclusion under the Procurement Act 2023.
The timeline for completing assessments of suppliers who have engaged in poor performance or professional misconduct is dependent on the circumstances of each individual case.
The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues currently being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Government are carefully considering volume 1 of the report. Once the inquiry has established the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, where appropriate.
In January 2024, Fujitsu committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes. It will bid for work with existing government customers only where it already has a contract with them or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Individual contracting authorities are responsible for the award and management of contracts. With regard to scrutiny during procurement processes, the Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.
The National Procurement Policy Statement asks contracting authorities to ensure they have the appropriate procurement and contract management skills and capability necessary to deliver public contracts and encourages the use of collaborative procurement frameworks, where appropriate, to deliver value for money.
To provide transparency, the government regularly publishes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for its most important contracts, and the performance of the vendor against those KPIs.
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Anderson of Stoke-on-Trent on 9 July (HL Deb col 1326), what is the timeline for completing assessments under the Procurement Act 2023 of suppliers who have engaged in poor performance or professional misconduct.
The timeline for completing assessments of suppliers who have engaged in poor performance or professional misconduct is dependent on the circumstances of each individual case.
The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues currently being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Government are carefully considering volume 1 of the report. Once the inquiry has established the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, where appropriate.
In January 2024, Fujitsu committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes. It will bid for work with existing government customers only where it already has a contract with them or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Individual contracting authorities are responsible for the award and management of contracts. With regard to scrutiny during procurement processes, the Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.
The National Procurement Policy Statement asks contracting authorities to ensure they have the appropriate procurement and contract management skills and capability necessary to deliver public contracts and encourages the use of collaborative procurement frameworks, where appropriate, to deliver value for money.
To provide transparency, the government regularly publishes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for its most important contracts, and the performance of the vendor against those KPIs.
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total value of the 12 contracts issued to Fujitsu in the last 12 months; and how many of these were new contracts rather than transitional arrangements.
The timeline for completing assessments of suppliers who have engaged in poor performance or professional misconduct is dependent on the circumstances of each individual case.
The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues currently being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Government are carefully considering volume 1 of the report. Once the inquiry has established the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, where appropriate.
In January 2024, Fujitsu committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes. It will bid for work with existing government customers only where it already has a contract with them or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Individual contracting authorities are responsible for the award and management of contracts. With regard to scrutiny during procurement processes, the Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.
The National Procurement Policy Statement asks contracting authorities to ensure they have the appropriate procurement and contract management skills and capability necessary to deliver public contracts and encourages the use of collaborative procurement frameworks, where appropriate, to deliver value for money.
To provide transparency, the government regularly publishes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for its most important contracts, and the performance of the vendor against those KPIs.
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that Fujitsu is subject to enhanced scrutiny during procurement processes.
The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues currently being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Government are carefully considering volume 1 of the report. Once the inquiry has established the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, where appropriate.
In January 2024, Fujitsu committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes. It will bid for work with existing government customers only where it already has a contract with them or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Individual contracting authorities are responsible for the award and management of contracts. With regard to scrutiny during procurement processes, the Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.
The National Procurement Policy Statement asks contracting authorities to ensure they have the appropriate procurement and contract management skills and capability necessary to deliver public contracts and encourages the use of collaborative procurement frameworks, where appropriate, to deliver value for money.
To provide transparency, the government regularly publishes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for its most important contracts, and the performance of the vendor against those KPIs.
To ask His Majesty's Government what ongoing contractor monitoring and accountability processes are in place to ensure value for money and service quality.
The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues currently being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Government are carefully considering volume 1 of the report. Once the inquiry has established the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, where appropriate.
In January 2024, Fujitsu committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes. It will bid for work with existing government customers only where it already has a contract with them or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Individual contracting authorities are responsible for the award and management of contracts. With regard to scrutiny during procurement processes, the Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.
The National Procurement Policy Statement asks contracting authorities to ensure they have the appropriate procurement and contract management skills and capability necessary to deliver public contracts and encourages the use of collaborative procurement frameworks, where appropriate, to deliver value for money.
To provide transparency, the government regularly publishes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for its most important contracts, and the performance of the vendor against those KPIs.
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance has been issued to departments regarding the awarding of public contracts to suppliers that have caused public harm, with specific reference to Fujitsu.
The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues currently being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Government are carefully considering volume 1 of the report. Once the inquiry has established the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, where appropriate.
In January 2024, Fujitsu committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes. It will bid for work with existing government customers only where it already has a contract with them or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Individual contracting authorities are responsible for the award and management of contracts. With regard to scrutiny during procurement processes, the Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.
The National Procurement Policy Statement asks contracting authorities to ensure they have the appropriate procurement and contract management skills and capability necessary to deliver public contracts and encourages the use of collaborative procurement frameworks, where appropriate, to deliver value for money.
To provide transparency, the government regularly publishes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for its most important contracts, and the performance of the vendor against those KPIs.
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of Fujitsu's suitability as a strategic supplier following the Post Office Horizon scandal.
The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues currently being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Government are carefully considering volume 1 of the report. Once the inquiry has established the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, where appropriate.
In January 2024, Fujitsu committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes. It will bid for work with existing government customers only where it already has a contract with them or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Individual contracting authorities are responsible for the award and management of contracts. With regard to scrutiny during procurement processes, the Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.
The National Procurement Policy Statement asks contracting authorities to ensure they have the appropriate procurement and contract management skills and capability necessary to deliver public contracts and encourages the use of collaborative procurement frameworks, where appropriate, to deliver value for money.
To provide transparency, the government regularly publishes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for its most important contracts, and the performance of the vendor against those KPIs.
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to review Fujitsu’s suitability to continue as a supplier for public sector contracts.
In January 2024, Fujitsu said it would withdraw from bidding for contracts with new Government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes – and it would only bid for work with existing Government customers where it already has an existing customer relationship with them, or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities. Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in correspondence deposited in the Houses of Parliament libraries on 4 March 2024 (DEP2024-0247).
Details of public sector awards are publicly available on Contracts Finder & Find a Tender services. In addition to extensions available under Fujitsu’s existing contracts, Contracts Finder and Find a Tender provide details of twelve new Fujitsu contracts since July 2024. These awards are compliant with Fujitsu's commitment not to bid for work with new customers. The majority are for services already provided by Fujitsu and were put in place to ensure continuity of services whilst competitive procurements are being set up.
The Government is determined to hold those responsible for the Horizon scandal to account, and will continue to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues which is being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Cabinet Office has been monitoring the situation, in addition to continuing its usual monitoring of Fujitsu as a strategic supplier. The Government will carefully consider volume 1 of the report, to be published on 8 July, which is limited in scope. Once the inquiry establishes the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, as appropriate.
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to applying exclusion clauses under public procurement regulations to prevent Fujitsu from bidding for new contracts until the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry concludes.
In January 2024, Fujitsu said it would withdraw from bidding for contracts with new Government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes – and it would only bid for work with existing Government customers where it already has an existing customer relationship with them, or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities. Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in correspondence deposited in the Houses of Parliament libraries on 4 March 2024 (DEP2024-0247).
Details of public sector awards are publicly available on Contracts Finder & Find a Tender services. In addition to extensions available under Fujitsu’s existing contracts, Contracts Finder and Find a Tender provide details of twelve new Fujitsu contracts since July 2024. These awards are compliant with Fujitsu's commitment not to bid for work with new customers. The majority are for services already provided by Fujitsu and were put in place to ensure continuity of services whilst competitive procurements are being set up.
The Government is determined to hold those responsible for the Horizon scandal to account, and will continue to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues which is being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Cabinet Office has been monitoring the situation, in addition to continuing its usual monitoring of Fujitsu as a strategic supplier. The Government will carefully consider volume 1 of the report, to be published on 8 July, which is limited in scope. Once the inquiry establishes the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, as appropriate.
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total value of contracts that they have awarded to Fujitsu over the past 12 months.
In January 2024, Fujitsu said it would withdraw from bidding for contracts with new Government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes – and it would only bid for work with existing Government customers where it already has an existing customer relationship with them, or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities. Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in correspondence deposited in the Houses of Parliament libraries on 4 March 2024 (DEP2024-0247).
Details of public sector awards are publicly available on Contracts Finder & Find a Tender services. In addition to extensions available under Fujitsu’s existing contracts, Contracts Finder and Find a Tender provide details of twelve new Fujitsu contracts since July 2024. These awards are compliant with Fujitsu's commitment not to bid for work with new customers. The majority are for services already provided by Fujitsu and were put in place to ensure continuity of services whilst competitive procurements are being set up.
The Government is determined to hold those responsible for the Horizon scandal to account, and will continue to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues which is being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Cabinet Office has been monitoring the situation, in addition to continuing its usual monitoring of Fujitsu as a strategic supplier. The Government will carefully consider volume 1 of the report, to be published on 8 July, which is limited in scope. Once the inquiry establishes the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, as appropriate.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have considered placing a moratorium on new contracts with Fujitsu until the public inquiry into the Horizon scandal has concluded.
The Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on Gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.
In January 2024, Fujitsu said it would withdraw from bidding for contracts with new Government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes – it would only bid for work with existing Government customers where it already has a contract with them, or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in correspondence deposited in the Houses of Parliament libraries on 4 March 2024 (DEP2024-0247).
To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance has been issued to departments regarding the ethical and reputational risks of awarding contracts to companies, including Fujitsu, that are subject to ongoing public inquiries into failures of governance and corporate responsibility.
The Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on Gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.
In January 2024, Fujitsu said it would withdraw from bidding for contracts with new Government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes – it would only bid for work with existing Government customers where it already has a contract with them, or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in correspondence deposited in the Houses of Parliament libraries on 4 March 2024 (DEP2024-0247).
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the total value of contracts that they have awarded to Fujitsu over the past 12 months.
Details of central government contracts where the contract value is above £12,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search In addition to extensions available under Fujitsu’s existing contracts, Contracts Finder provides details of six services provided by Fujitsu that have been extended through direct awards since January 2024. These relate to services that Fujitsu was already providing and are in line with the contracts that they replaced, to ensure continuity of public services, whilst competitive procurements are being set up, as appropriate.
The Cabinet Office has reviewed cases for supplier service extensions in line with the commercial spend controls process in order to ensure continuity of public services.
In January 2024, Fujitsu said it would withdraw from bidding for contracts for new work with new Government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes – it would only bid for work with existing Government customers where it already has a contract with them, or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in this letter, deposited in Parliament. For more details, please see here.
To ask His Majesty's Government how many new contracts, or extensions to existing contracts, have been awarded to Fujitsu over the past 12 months by each government department.
Details of central government contracts where the contract value is above £12,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search In addition to extensions available under Fujitsu’s existing contracts, Contracts Finder provides details of six services provided by Fujitsu that have been extended through direct awards since January 2024. These relate to services that Fujitsu was already providing and are in line with the contracts that they replaced, to ensure continuity of public services, whilst competitive procurements are being set up, as appropriate.
The Cabinet Office has reviewed cases for supplier service extensions in line with the commercial spend controls process in order to ensure continuity of public services.
In January 2024, Fujitsu said it would withdraw from bidding for contracts for new work with new Government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes – it would only bid for work with existing Government customers where it already has a contract with them, or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in this letter, deposited in Parliament. For more details, please see here.
To ask His Majesty's Government which Government Departments have contracts with Fujitsu and what is the value of each contract.
Details of central government contracts where the contract value is above £12,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search. In addition to extensions available under Fujitsu’s existing contracts, Contracts Finder provides details of five services provided by Fujitsu, that have been extended through direct awards since January. These service extensions ensured continuity of public services, whilst competitive procurements are being set up, as appropriate.
Cabinet Office has reviewed cases for supplier service extensions in line with the commercial spend controls process in order to ensure continuity of public services.
In January 2024, Fujitsu said it would withdraw from bidding for contracts for new work with new Government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes – it would only bid for work with existing Government customers where it already has a contract with them, or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in this letter, deposited in Parliament. For more details, please see here.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have signed new contracts or renewed existing contracts with Fujitsu this year.
Details of central government contracts where the contract value is above £12,000 are published on Contracts Finder: https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Search. In addition to extensions available under Fujitsu’s existing contracts, Contracts Finder provides details of five services provided by Fujitsu, that have been extended through direct awards since January. These service extensions ensured continuity of public services, whilst competitive procurements are being set up, as appropriate.
Cabinet Office has reviewed cases for supplier service extensions in line with the commercial spend controls process in order to ensure continuity of public services.
In January 2024, Fujitsu said it would withdraw from bidding for contracts for new work with new Government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes – it would only bid for work with existing Government customers where it already has a contract with them, or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.
Fujitsu's bid approach is detailed in this letter, deposited in Parliament. For more details, please see here.
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to investigate whether Fujitsu staff had unauthorised access to the Post Office’s Horizon software system; and, if so, whether there have been any alleged cases of fraud or theft of Post Office funds by Fujitsu staff.
The independent Post Office Horizon Inquiry was set up – and put on a statutory footing - to review all the evidence to establish a clear account of the implementation and failings of Horizon so that a scandal like this does not happen again.
Until Sir Wyn’s work is completed, and all the evidence is known, it would be premature for me to comment on every aspect of this scandal alongside this inquiry which is there to get to the bottom of the facts.