Horizon Shortfall Scheme: Appeals
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the Written Ministerial Statement of 13 October 2025 entitled Volume 1 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report: Government response to recommendations, HCWS937, whether legal support will be extended to postmasters who accepted fixed sum offers; and how he plans to notify those postmasters.
Answered by Blair McDougall
In line with the Government’s response to Recommendation 9 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry report, postmasters who accepted fixed sum offers under the Horizon Shortfall Scheme will be able to seek funded legal advice if they wish to apply for permission to appeal.
My Department is working closely with the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board and the Independent Reviewer on the practical implementation of the appeals process, including its scope and criteria. We will engage with legal representatives and postmaster representative organisations on the process before it is launched.
My Department will write to all eligible postmasters when the process is launched.
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