Fulfilling a key request from those impacted by Post Office Horizon scandal, Department for Business and Trade today (3) announced that those who have had their convictions overturned will now have their conviction claims administered by the government, completely taking them out of the hands of the Post Office.
The Post Office will cease to be involved in the redress for postmasters with overturned convictions.
After a three-month transitional period, the Department for Business and Trade’s Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS) will broaden its scope to take on responsibility for redress for postmasters who have had their convictions overturned by the Courts.
These are currently dealt with by the Post Office through their Overturned Convictions scheme. This is something that postmasters, campaigners, and Parliamentarians, including the Business and Trade Select Committee, have all called for.
Stating that the victims have "suffered a huge amount", the department stated that while the government can’t fully put right what they have been through, it can make sure the compensation process "works better for them by listening to their grievances and acting upon them where possible to ensure postmasters are treated with dignity and respect".
"Today, this means ending the difficulty of dealing with the organisation which upended so many of their lives," stated the department.
The delivery of redress for victims of the Post office Horizon scandal is a key government manifesto commitment, with a commitment of £1.8 billion to ensure all postmasters receive the justice and financial redress they deserve.
Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas said, "My priority upon coming into office was to speed up the delivery of compensation to the victims of the Horizon scandal.
"We have made significant progress, and we are now moving to ensure there is a quick transfer of schemes from the Post Office to the Department.
"In the meantime, I encourage all those eligible to apply for redress under the Overturned Convictions scheme and continue to progress their claims with the Post Office until the transfer date."
The Department for Business and Trade will formally take over on June 3 2025. The three-month transitional period between now and then will allow for the smooth transfer of active claims from one scheme to the other, ensuring there is no gap in service for postmasters who have claims in the system.
As of 31 January, approximately £663 million has been paid to over 4,300 claimants, which has more than doubled since the end of June 2024.
Today’s announcement is the latest in a series of government actions to address the Post Office Horizon Scandal, including:
- launching the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS) for postmasters whose horizon-related convictions were quashed by Parliament. This scheme has made 364 interim payments to eligible claimants and has fully settled 208 claims, paying out a total of £156 million.
- on the HCRS, committing to provide first offers on receipt of detailed claims within 40 working days in 90 per cent of cases.
- beginning payments of a £75,000 fixed offer for those postmasters in the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS) who want to accept it: approximately £171 million has been paid in award top-ups and £75,000 awards.
- publishing our response to the consultant’s report into the Post Office Capture software (predecessor to Horizon) and have committed to offering redress to all non-convicted postmasters who fell victim to flaws in Capture software.
- announcing an independent appeals process for the HSS to provide individuals with a chance to have their claims reassessed through a DBT-run process. We expect the first cases will be ready for submission in the Spring.
- confirmed the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board in place.
