Asked by: Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Post Office will be permitted to demand confidentiality in the Post Office Horizon Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
In principle, Post Office will be permitted to demand confidentiality; however, this is a legal matter and will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.
Asked by: Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the size of the compensation cost connected to the Post Office Horizon scandal, and (2) the extent to which the Post Office remains a going concern.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
BEIS Secretary of State is the 100% shareholder of Post Office and in this capacity he has agreed to help fund the Historical Shortfall Scheme and to fund the compensation for postmasters with overturned Horizon-related convictions.
An initial estimate of £233 million of maximum budget cover from the Government for Historical Shortfall Scheme compensation payments was published by BEIS, as is required, on the TCA subsidy website. This was an estimate of maximum budget cover potentially required from Government and is not an estimate of likely outturn in settlement costs. The £153 million provision included in the 2019/20 Post Office accounts provides the best estimate of likely overall compensation spend under the Historical Shortfall Scheme, some of which will be paid by Post Office and some of which will be paid by Government.
BEIS also published on the TCA subsidy website an estimate of maximum potential Government spend of £780 million to cover both the interim payments of up to £100k to be paid within 28 days of an overturned Horizon-related conviction and the final settlements for these postmasters. This is not, however, an estimate of the likely spend on these settlement costs. Actual compensation costs for postmasters with overturned criminal convictions will be determined by the total number of overturned convictions over time and the individual settlements reached. As was the case on the Historical Shortfall Scheme, I expect that Post Office will publish a more accurate estimate of these compensation costs as a provision in its forthcoming annual report and accounts.
Post Office Limited confirmed in its Annual Report and Accounts in March 2021 that it is a going concern. The next Annual Report and Accounts should be published before the end of March 2022
Asked by: Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the cases will be pursued (1) in parallel, or (2) sequentially, in the Post Office Horizon Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
Cases being subject to the Alternative Dispute Resolution process are being handled in parallel.
Asked by: Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what provision they will make for oversight, independent of the Post Office and Government, of the Alternative Dispute Resolutions in the Horizon compensation cases.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government will monitor the Post Office’s progress on compensation cases as well as the approach being taken when making offers of compensation and track for consistency and fairness. Furthermore, a QC or other suitably qualified legal professional will review the proposed approach for assessing claims for at least an initial cohort of cases, and will be available to advise POL and the Government on issues arising as required.