Clarify whether HCRS and OCS assessment processes differ
Post Office Horizon Inquiry · Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry: Final Report · Issued 8 July 2025 · Addressed to: Department for Business and Trade
Source — verbatim from the inquiry
●Inquiry recommendation
The Department shall make a public announcement in which (a) it clarifies whether there will be any differences in the process for assessing financial redress, between the merged HCRS and OCS, and the process currently operating in OCS and if so, (b) it explains what those differences in the process will be.
Post Office Horizon Inquiry, Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry: Final Report · 8 Jul 2025 Source PDF →
Published evidence summary
Publicly available evidence relating to this recommendation:
- The Department for Business and Trade accepted this recommendation on 9 October 2025, confirming that HCRS applies identical principles to the previous OCS scheme, ensuring no OCS claimant is disadvantaged by the transfer (Government response to the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report (volume 1), DBT, 9 October 2025).
- The Business and Trade Select Committee confirmed DBT's statement that HCRS applies identical principles to OCS (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. DBT confirms that HCRS applies identical principles to the previous OCS scheme, ensuring no disadvantage to overturned conviction claimants. Case management and independent panel processes are in place to address delays. Sir Gary Hickinbottom's role covers both pecuniary and non-pecuniary aspects of claims.
Department for Business and Trade · 9 Oct 2025 Written response →
Evidence trail — what's actually happened since
- 2 Mar 2026 DBT has confirmed that the HCRS will apply the same principles as the previous OC scheme, ensuring no OC claimant is disadvantaged by the transfer to HCRS. This recommendation was addressed through the publication of the Department's response to Volume 1 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report on 9 October 2025. Source →
- 31 Jan 2026 Verification: Government published formal response to Volume 1 recommendations on 13 October 2025, accepting 17 of 18 recommendations. Total compensation paid across all schemes: £1.38 billion as of December 2025. Volume 2 of Final Report expected 2026. Source →
- 6 Jan 2026 · Business and Trade Select Committee Business and Trade Select Committee noted DBT confirmed that HCRS applies identical principles to the previous OCS scheme, ensuring no OCS claimant would be disadvantaged by the transfer. 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.