The Government are determined that postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal receive the compensation they deserve.
The Government are today announcing further details about how postmasters who previously accepted the Horizon shortfall scheme fixed-sum offer will be able to request permission from an independent person to appeal their award. We are also providing an update on the recommendations from the Horizon shortfall scheme independent senior lawyer on cases where there is no evidence of a shortfall.
Permission to appeal
Volume 1 of the Post Office IT Horizon inquiry report recommended that postmasters who feel they may have under-settled their HSS claim by accepting the 75,000 HSS FSO
“should be afforded the opportunity to appeal against their acceptance of such an offer if they are granted permission to do so”
by an independent person. Being granted permission to appeal will not guarantee that a postmaster’s award will be uplifted when their claim is fully assessed in the HSS appeals process.
To implement Sir Wyn Williams’ recommendation, the Department for Business and Trade has developed draft guidance for the scheme and engaged with key stakeholders, including claimants’ representatives, the Horizon compensation advisory board and postmaster organisations. This is to ensure that the process will be fit for purpose and meets its aims.
The FSO permission to appeal process will open for registrations later this year. Postmasters who have already received an FSO will have three months from the launch date to register and seek permission to appeal. Those who receive FSOs in future will have three months from the date of the offer to seek permission to appeal. Once confirmed as eligible, they will then have a further three months to make their application by submitting a concise written narrative explaining why they believe that their claim was under-settled. Assessment of these requests will be undertaken completely independently of the Department and Post Office. A postmaster who is granted permission will be permitted to apply to the HSS appeals process.
DBT will fund postmasters’ reasonable costs of obtaining legal advice to understand the value of their potential claim and prepare their narrative on the basis of a tariff which was discussed with legal representatives and has also been published today. We will strongly encourage those considering seeking permission to appeal to take up this offer and only engage solicitors and firms that are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Law Society of Scotland or the Law Society of Northern Ireland. Additionally, postmasters should not engage any firm which offers a “no-win, no-fee” conditional fee or litigation funding agreement.
The UK has concluded a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—as friends and valued partners.
The UK’s ties with the Gulf are deep, historic, and future-focused. This deal is founded upon our shared commitment to open trade, mutual prosperity, and the long-term economic success of all our nations.
The Government recognise the challenges UK businesses are facing as a result of the situation in the middle east and are already taking action to support firms through this period of uncertainty, by supporting critical supply chains, strengthening domestic steel production and boosting consumer confidence. Ministers are working closely with business groups and industry leaders to understand the pressures facing industry and, as the situation develops, will be agile in responding.
Today’s agreement with the GCC supports that wider, co-ordinated response—providing the legal certainty and long-term stability that businesses tell us they need to plan, invest and grow with confidence. Alongside domestic action through the industrial strategy and small business plan, this deal forms part of a coherent strategy to build economic resilience and support long-term growth in trade and exports.
The Government have today published the draft fixed-sum offer permission to appeal process guide, which details the proposed principles, eligibility criteria, stages of the process and expectations for applicants. This provides the information which postmasters and their legal representatives will need to start submitting cases. We continue to welcome feedback from stakeholders on our proposals. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/horizon-shortfall-scheme-hss-fixed-sum-offer-permission-to-appeal-process .
DBT will work with the Post Office to ensure postmasters who previously received an FSO are contacted upon launch to make them aware that this process is available.
Horizon shortfall scheme
In December 2025, Sir Gary Hickinbottom was appointed to the HSS as the independent senior lawyer to review any generic issues arising under the scheme; and, if appropriate, make recommendations to ensure full, fair and prompt redress within the scheme and, as far as possible, across the Horizon redress schemes as a whole.
The DBT and Post Office referred the handling of cases without shortfall evidence to Sir Gary for review. He has reviewed this process and provided recommendations on it. He advised that, subject to implementation of those recommendations, the process is appropriate, robust and fair, and does not apply more than the necessary burden on claimants. The Government have today published the full report which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-senior-lawyers-review-of-unevidenced-shortfalls-process . The Post Office and the Department are grateful for his advice and have accepted his recommendations in full.
In addition to the report, we have issued guidance outlining the procedures for managing and processing these cases to ensure claimants have a clear understanding of how their claims will be handled. The Post Office and the Department are committed to providing full and fair redress for those affected by the Horizon scandal. We consider that this revised process will ensure that applicants will obtain that redress in a manner that is fair to all claimants. DBT will continue to work with Post Office to ensure claims are processed as quickly as possible.
I will keep the House updated as this work progresses.
[HCWS45]
This deal is one of the most ambitious that the GCC has ever concluded and marks the first FTA it has concluded with a G7 nation. It reflects and strengthens the deep, long-standing partnership between our nations, built on decades of shared commitment to open trade, mutual prosperity and the long-term economic success of all our nations.
The GCC is equivalent to the UK’s 10th largest trading partner1, with total trade between the UK and GCC valued at £53 billion in 20252. This deal is estimated to grow trade between us by almost 20%3, supporting economic growth and putting money in people’s pockets. The deal could add an estimated £3.7 billion annually to the UK economy in the long run when compared to 2040 projections and £1.9 billion a year to real wages4. When combined with the India FTA, the two agreements are estimated to add over £8 billion a year in real terms5, helping to drive forward our modern industrial strategy. This agreement responds directly to the priorities raised by UK businesses and includes measures that will meaningfully improve the ease of doing business with the GCC.
As the second largest services exporter in the world6, with strengths in sectors such as financial and professional business services, the UK is well matched to support the Gulf’s ambitions to diversify its economies. This FTA gives UK firms the tools and certainty they need to expand their presence across the region. This includes locking in market access across a broad range of sectors for our services firms. This will ensure that UK businesses are provided with guaranteed terms on which to trade, reducing the risk of future restrictions that could impact their operations. This includes limitations on foreign ownership or requirements to set up a base in the GCC to supply their services in the region. We are also providing greater regulatory transparency in telecoms, including authorisation and licensing processes, ensuring that businesses can access GCC regulations and that regulatory processes are fair and efficient.
The GCC has taken its most ambitious commitments on business mobility to date, which will improve consistency and transparency of visa requirements and processes, and provide increased certainty on the level of access that businesses can enjoy. This will support UK firms to deliver services in the region, in support of the GCC’s diversification plans.
For the first time, the GCC has committed not to impose disproportionate or unjustified requirements on firms to store their data locally in the bloc, giving UK tech firms greater confidence that they will not face costly new burdens. The far-reaching digital provisions in this agreement will drive innovation and support the use of emerging digital technologies through UK-GCC co-operation. This will enable both sides to take advantage of opportunities when new products and services emerge, including in areas such as artificial intelligence, paperless trade and clean energy.
For goods exporters, the deal will make trade cheaper, faster, and more predictable, cutting red tape, reducing and removing tariffs and simplifying customs processes. Based on existing trade, the deal will eliminate duties worth an estimated £580 million a year on UK goods exported to the GCC once fully implemented.
Some £360 million of these estimated duties will be removed on day one of the agreement entering into force7. After a decade, 90% of GCC tariff lines will have tariffs removed, unlocking tariff-free access for around 93% of UK goods exports based on existing trade. Two thirds of UK exports will enter the GCC tariff-free immediately after the deal enters into force, delivering a major boost for UK manufacturers, food and high-value brands8. The UK is also liberalising tariffs on all current GCC exports from day one under this agreement, supporting supply chains and helping UK businesses to reduce input costs. The deal excludes pork, chicken and eggs from tariff liberalisation.
This deal removes tariffs on British exports, including automotives, aerospace, and food and drink such as smoked salmon and baked goods. UK businesses will benefit from tailored rules of origin, digital trade provisions such as paperless trading, a ban on customs duties on electronic transmissions and provisions allowing UK exporters, should they wish, to complete and self-certify their own origin documentation after initial registration. This was a top ask from businesses, helping to remove the often costly and time-consuming requirements which often deter smaller firms from exporting.
Investment is a core pillar of our growth mission, and this deal lays the foundation for even deeper UK-GCC investment ties, protecting investment on both sides and driving growth for years to come. The GCC is already a key source of inward investment into the UK, with total foreign direct investments, portfolio, derivatives and other investment assets and liabilities between the UK and Gulf Arabian countries—which include the GCC nations, as well as Yemen and Iraq9—amounting to £485 billion in 202410. UK investors from a range of sectors also have a long history of investing in the Gulf. In this deal we have agreed comprehensive levels of protections for UK and GCC investors and their investments, ensuring they will receive fair and non- discriminatory treatment that will give investors the confidence to make long-term investment decisions. It will also provide transparent, independent legal recourse to resolve disputes if treaty obligations are breached. This will help to ensure that projects in both regions have the certainty they need to succeed.
Within this FTA, we have also agreed a package of commitments on environment, labour, women’s economic empowerment, and animal welfare that go further than anything the GCC has agreed before in an FTA, opening new avenues for collaboration on shared priorities. These include commitments to address barriers that are specific to women in trade, as well as upholding the labour standards that underpin fair competition for businesses on both sides.
The UK will continue to work closely with our Gulf partners—across trade, investment, defence and security and to build prosperity across all our nations. We will now go through the steps to prepare this treaty for signature, and I look forward to updating the House further on this agreement in due course.
7Duty estimates are based on GCC import figures from ITC trademap, using 2024 data for all countries except Oman, which uses 2023 data. Duties are calculated using the GCC common external tariff and country-specific tariffs as of 2022. For countries where HS6-level data is used (Oman, Qatar and the UAE), the lowest MFN tariff within the HS6 subheading is applied to provide a conservative estimate.
8Estimates based on GCC import figures from ITC trademap, using 2024 data for all countries except Oman, which uses 2023 data.