Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to replace any directors of the Post Office in post during the period when sub-postmasters were being prosecuted as the result of deficiencies in the Horizon software, so that none of those directors is involved in the administration of any compensation scheme.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
Post Office has not undertaken any private prosecutions related to Horizon since 2015. All Non-Executive Directors of Post Office joined from 2021 onwards and no current Board member was in place before 2015.
The Government has set up a statutory inquiry into the Post Office Horizon scandal. Collective and individual accountability for the scandal can only be considered when the Inquiry has reviewed all of the evidence.
The Horizon Compensation Advisory Board is an independent advisory board of parliamentarians and academics which oversees compensation related to the Post Office Horizon scandal, ensuring that the compensation schemes achieve fair outcomes for postmasters.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have, at any point since 1999, asked the National Audit Office to review the operation of the Horizon IT system used by the Post Office.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
We are not aware of any evidence that the National Audit Office (NAO) has been asked to review the operation of the Horizon system; the Horizon contract was always managed directly by Post Office, which does not come under NAO’s remit.
However the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry will look at the actions successive Governments have taken regarding oversight of the Horizon IT system.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce legislation to nullify all non-disclosure agreements the Post Office has in place with sub-postmasters who experienced shortfalls due to the defective Horizon system which were made at the time when the Post Office and its lawyers were defending that system.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Post Office CEO, Nick Read, confirmed to the Business and Trade Select Committee on 16 January, that Post Office would not block any Non-Disclosure Agreements being broken for postmasters. Minister Hollinrake, the Postal Services Minister, has since followed up with the Post Office to discuss what, if any, further action needs to be taken. My Department does not include any confidentiality provisions in the offers it issues to postmasters participating in the Group Litigation Order Compensation Scheme.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps were taken when the shortfalls arising from flaws in the Horizon software system were reported at Post Offices controlled by the Crown.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Horizon Inquiry, chaired by Sir Wyn Williams, aims to review all the evidence to establish a clear account of the implementation and failings of Horizon. A number of the issues which the Inquiry is considering relate explicitly to the actions of Post Office.
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 the risk of conflict of interest of Tim Parker holding the position of chairman of the Post Office, when it sought to block appeals by convicted postmasters, while also holding the position of Chair of HM Courts and Tribunals Service.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
When appointments are made, conflicts are routinely addressed as part of the appointments process. The Companies Act sets out that a director must avoid situations where they have conflicts which conflict with the interests of the company, and they must disclose conflicts of interest.
The Department is not however aware of any specific assessment made with regard to Tim Parker’s role as Chair of HMCTS and Post Office Ltd decisions in response to postmaster appeals.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many postmasters or staff at Crown-controlled Post Offices have been prosecuted for shortfalls arising from flaws in the Horizon software system and how much money was recovered from them.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not hold information on the number of prosecutions broken down by type of Post Office. Postmasters who repaid shortfalls, which arose as a result of the Horizon software, to the Post Office, can claim compensation for these amounts, as well as any other financial and personal damage which they have suffered as a consequence of the IT system.
The full 2,417 postmasters who claimed through the original Horizon Shortfall Scheme have now all had offers of compensation. Offers have totalled over £107m and over £93 million has been paid out in this scheme, with Post Office now dealing with late applications and with those cases where the initial offer was not accepted.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce legislation to require Government departments to inform those affected of any errors and flaws found in the computer information systems that they operate.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
There are no plans to introduce new legislation to inform affected citizens of errors in computing and information systems operated by the government. There is existing legislation in the UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) pertaining to personal data which protects individuals.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the findings set out in paragraphs 1024 and 1028 of the judgment of Bates and Others v the Post Office Ltd [2019] EWHC 3408 (QB), what plans they have to investigate the conduct of Ernst & Young in respect of their duties as auditors of the Post Office, under section 498(1) of the Companies Act 2006, regarding returns from Post Office branches.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is responsible for investigations of possible audit failures in cases of major public interest. The FRC is aware of possible questions as to the audit work conducted at the Post Office during the period in which issues arose with the Fujitsu Horizon system and is continuing to monitor developments in this case.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether WH Smith, which used Horizon terminals in branches which provided postal services, was treated differently to ordinary sub-postmasters when there were discrepancies in their accounting.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government does not hold this information. However, we will approach Post Office Limited on behalf of the Noble Lord and write when we have received a response.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce legislation to ensure that the statute of limitations does not prevent those affected by defects in the Post Office’s Horizon software from bringing litigation against any party associated with it.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
The Government are confident that the statute of limitations will not have the effect which the noble Lord's Question implies.