Set agreed closing date for Horizon Shortfall Scheme applications
Post Office Horizon Inquiry · First Interim Report: Compensation · Issued 17 July 2023 · Addressed to: Department for Business and Trade
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
No applications for compensation to the Horizon Shortfall Scheme shall be entertained after such date as shall be agreed by the Minister, the Department for Business and Trade, the Post Office and the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board.
Post Office Horizon Inquiry, First Interim Report: Compensation · 17 Jul 2023 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The HSS closing date was subsequently set as 31 January 2026, superseding this interim recommendation through the Volume 1 recommendation POH-15 (Government response to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report (volume 1), DBT, 9 October 2025).
- The HSS closed to new claims on 31 January 2026 as confirmed by the Business and Trade Select Committee (Business and Trade Select Committee evidence session, January 2026).
Response — verbatim from government
●Department for Business and Trade
Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation in part. The Department will discuss and agree a closing date with Post Office. The Advisory Board will be consulted before any closing date is notified to the Inquiry and to claimants.
Department for Business and Trade · 21 Sep 2023 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 31 Jan 2026 Verification: Interim report recommendations largely implemented through Post Office (Horizon System) Compensation Act 2024 and scheme operational changes. HSS closing date set as 31 January 2026. Sir Gary Hickinbottom appointed to oversee scheme fairness. Source →
- 21 Sep 2023 · Department for Business and Trade Government response: Accepted in part. Department for Business and Trade accepts this recommendation in part. The Department will discuss and agree a closing date with Post Office. The Advisory Board will be consulted before any closing da... Source →
- 1 Jan 2026 · Horizon Compensation Advisory Board The HSS closing date was agreed and subsequently superseded by recommendation POH-15 in the Volume 1 Final Report. HSS closed to new claims on 31 January 2026. View source → Confirmed Completed
Each entry above links to a primary source — gov.uk written statement, consultation response document, or inspection report. The Index does not characterise government intent; it tracks what has been published.
How this page is built
Source and Response are verbatim from primary documents. The Evidence trail records published activity since — written statements, consultation outcomes, inspection findings, parliamentary references. The Index does not paraphrase or characterise intent; it tracks what has been published. Where the evidence is the absence of action (a missed deadline, a slipped timetable), that absence is documented from primary sources rather than inferred.
This recommendation's data is verified periodically against primary sources. The Index is monitored for staleness weekly.