Horizon Shortfall Scheme: Fixed-sum Offer Appeals and Independent Senior Lawyer

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.

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To implement Sir Wyn Williams’ recommendation, the Department for Business and Trade has developed draft guidance for the scheme and engaged with key stakeholders, including claimants’ representatives, the Horizon compensation advisory board and postmaster organisations.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 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.

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]