Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many of the sub-postmasters’ convictions secured by the Crown Prosecution Service had an input from the Department of Work and Pensions.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they commissioned one or more independent legal opinions before deciding not to quash the convictions and prosecutions of sub-postmasters by the Department of Work and Pensions in relation to the Post Office Horizon IT scandal.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
I can confirm that the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) instructed Counsel to advise on its duty of post-conviction disclosure and that advice included a consideration of the nature of its prosecutions.
The advice considered cases that had been brought before the Court of Appeal in which DWP evidence was scrutinised.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many liquidations began (1) five, (2) 10, and (3) 15, years ago but are still not finalised.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Time Period (years) | Number of Companies in Liquidation |
0 - 5 | 56,363 |
5 - 10 | 10,042 |
10 - 15 | 8,189 |
15 + | 20,822 |
The figures show when the most recent liquidation process began for distinct entities. These figures include liquidations notified to the Registrar of Companies up to 31 December 2023.
These figures are being provided as management information and are unaudited and are subject to change. They should only be used for indicative purposes.
Further information about companies in liquidation is available in the statistical tables published by Companies House on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Financial Reporting Council in relation to external audits of the Post Office.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry continues to gather evidence about the Horizon scandal. The Government will consider any lessons learned in respect of audit and other matters once the Inquiry has reported.
We have regular discussions with the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) regarding its regulation of statutory audit, while recognising its role as an independent regulator. The FRC is monitoring developments in relation to the Post Office.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) financial, and (2) legal, support they will provide to sub-postmasters to bring private prosecutions against past directors of the Post Office for concealing faults in the Horizon IT system and falsely prosecuting them.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry continues to gather evidence about the Horizon scandal. The Metropolitan Police are a core participant in the Inquiry; it will be for them and the Crown Prosecution Service to consider any prosecutions. The Government does not fund private prosecutions.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many UK-based companies produce batteries for electric vehicles; and what is their collective capacity.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
AESC currently has a 1.9GWh facility operational in Sunderland. The UK has a further 52GWh per annum battery capacity committed – 12GWh from the AESC Gigafactory under construction in Sunderland and a further 40GWh from the planned Agratas Gigafactory. This is over half the capacity needed to meet industry demand forecasts of around 90GWh by 2030.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the (1) highest, and (3) lowest, amount of compensation requested by sub-postmasters following the Post Office Horizon scandal; and what proportion of the requested amounts have been paid.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Compensation offers depend on the compensation claim submitted. The total so far paid to the 102 postmasters whose convictions have been overturned is over £38 million, and £34 million has been paid out to 477 GLO claimants. This covers both interim payments and full and final settlements. Postmasters who claimed through the original Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS) have now all had offers and 242 offers have been made to late applicants. To date, £107 million has been paid out to all HSS claimants. We publish monthly data on claims received. The most recent monthly data can be found here:
The amounts awarded to individuals are not revealed out of respect for individuals’ privacy.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that Royal Mail is not currently meeting its first-class and second-class letter delivery targets; and what remedial action they intend to take in response.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
It is for Ofcom, as the independent regulator of postal services, to set and monitor Royal Mail's service standards and decide how to use its powers to investigate and take enforcement action should Royal Mail fail to achieve its obligations without good justification.
In its investigation into quality of service performance for 2022-23, Ofcom found Royal Mail had contravened its service conditions and therefore imposed a £5.6 million fine on the business. Ofcom has committed to closely monitoring Royal Mail's performance and the steps it is taking to return delivery offices to pre-pandemic practices.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted by the Post Office have since died without receiving any redress; and how many of their relatives have received full redress.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Tragically, a total of seven wrongfully prosecuted postmasters within the current ‘Overturned Convictions’ cohort have died. Six of these were postmasters whose convictions have been overturned, and one was prosecuted but not convicted. Two of the seven postmasters died after their convictions were overturned. Of these seven claims, four have reached full and final settlement.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to place a copy of the Project Zebra review, associated with the Post Office Horizon scandal, in the Library of the House.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Department does not have a copy of the Project Zebra review. Like other aspects of the Horizon scandal, this is a matter for the statutory Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, chaired by Sir Wyn Williams, to look into