Written statement: Volume 1 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report: Government response to recommendations - Oct 13

Minister for Small Businesses (Blair McDougall): On 8 July, the Department welcomed the publication of the first volume of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report. The Inquiry has provided a platform for postmasters to share their experiences of the horrendous injustice, enabling Parliament, the Government, the Post Office and the wider public to gain a true perspective of the life-changing impacts on those affected.

Sir Wyn Williams' report commented on the redress schemes delivered by this and the preceding Government, with carefully considered conclusions. I pay tribute to Sir Wyn and his Inquiry team for their work, alongside the many honourable Members and peers who have campaigned about the scandal.

Sir Wyn's report set out 19 recommendations, which provide helpful guidance about how we should improve the existing redress schemes. I wholly share Sir Wyn's view that his recommendations should be addressed promptly. In July, my honourable friend, the previous Minister for Services, Small Business and Exports, committed that the Government would respond to them by 10 October, as Sir Wyn requested. I am pleased to announce that we did this on 9 October.

Response to Recommendations

The full response to all recommendations has been shared with Sir Wyn, placed in the Libraries of both Houses and published on gov.uk. We have accepted all but one of his 18 recommendations relating to Horizon redress.

The only Horizon-related recommendation that we have not accepted was that to close the HSS Dispute Resolution Process, as we believe that to do so would unfairly restrict postmasters' choices.

Sir Wyn's nineteenth recommendation – for an independent body to deliver redress for future scandals – is welcome, but we will need to do more work on its feasibility before we can adopt it. This work is underway, and we will update the House when appropriate.

The Government informed the House on 8 July that we had accepted two of Sir Wyn's recommendations already, including the principle of establishing a redress scheme for members of postmasters' families, and the recommendation that claimants should be able to bank the best offer that they get from the GLO process. Today, I can confirm that we have also published the definition of what we mean by “full and fair redress”, to make this clearer for claimants and their representatives. We have already implemented a number of the other recommendations.

With Post Office and Fujitsu, we have commenced work on a restorative justice project for postmasters and their families, expertly facilitated by the Restorative Justice Council.

This work on restorative justice is separate from the contribution which Fujitsu have already agreed in principle they should make towards the costs of the scandal. We are discussing that with them, but do not expect a conclusion until we have received the final part of Sir Wyn's report.

Sir Wyn recommended that the Horizon Shortfall Scheme should close on 27 November 2025. We agree with Sir Wyn that there does need to be finality. However, having consulted the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, we have decided to provide more time for vulnerable claimants to consider applying to the scheme. To help with this, as recommended by the Public Accounts Committee, we will ensure that postmasters are sent letters informing them that the scheme will soon be closing. The Post Office, with the Government's blessing, has decided to close the scheme to new applications on 31 January 2026. They will also close the Suspension Remuneration Review scheme to new applications on the same date.

We have also accepted Sir Wyn's recommendation that people should be able to seek permission from an independent person to appeal against a fixed sum offer in the Horizon Shortfall Scheme. The Government will share further detail on this appeal process before the end of this year.

Sir Wyn has also recommended that we should provide legal support to those in the Horizon Shortfall Scheme in deciding whether to accept the fixed sum offer. As his report says, this probably makes “up front” legal advice unnecessary. We will implement his recommendation by funding legal advice for people who seek permission to appeal against the fixed sum offer. This means that such advice will be available to people who have previously settled for the fixed sum, not just to future applicants. We have consulted the Advisory Board, who agree that this is the right approach. In addition, a suitably qualified senior lawyer has been appointed to oversee the Horizon Shortfall Scheme to ensure first offers to claimants are full and fair. We are pleased to confirm that Sir Gary Hickinbottom will commence the role shortly.

Furthermore, from 9 October, claimants who have chosen to have their claims fully assessed in the Horizon Shortfall Scheme and the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme will be allowed to revert to a fixed sum offer within 3 months of receiving their first fully-assessed offer.

It is absolutely crucial that redress is delivered with compassion, fairness and pace to enable those who have suffered greatly to begin to heal. I hope that by accepting the vast majority of Sir Wyn's recommendations, this Government is showing its willingness to listen and make improvements where necessary.

Evaluation

To that end, I can announce that the Department is funding an independent evaluation programme to assess the effectiveness and impact of the redress schemes, delivered by external research partner Ipsos. The evaluation will explore how these schemes have been designed and implemented, what has worked well, and where improvements can be made now and into the future. It will collect and draw on a wide range of evidence, including interviews, focus groups, and analysis of scheme documentation and data. Findings will help inform future policy-making and ensure that lessons are learned for future redress scheme delivery.