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.
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 who has held the post of Accounting Officer with responsibility for the Post Office since 1 January 2000, and what were their dates of service in that role.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Principal Account Officer (PAO) responsible for the Post Office is the Permanent Secretary of the respective department that holds the shareholding of Post Office Ltd (POL). Before its separation in 2012, POL was part of Royal Mail Group. This would be the Permanent Secretaries from the following departments:
Department for Trade & Industry (2000 – 2007)
Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (2007 – 2009)
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills (2009 – 2016)
Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (2016 – Present)
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 are the responsibilities of the Accounting Officer with responsibility for the Post Office.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The responsibilities of Principal Accounting Officers (PAOs) are set out in Managing Public Money. For Post Office Ltd. (POL) the PAO is the BEIS Permanent Secretary.
Specifically, the PAO is accountable to Parliament in respect of POL and for ensuring that arrangements are in place for shareholder oversight of POL. The PAO is also responsible for advising the responsible Minister, including in areas such as:
(i) an appropriate framework of objectives and targets for POL in the light of BEIS’s
wider strategic aims and priorities;
(ii) an appropriate allocation of BEIS’ budget for POL in the light of BEIS’s overall
expenditure priorities; and
(iii) how well POL is achieving its strategic objectives and if it is delivering Value for
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 any significant initiatives, policies, programmes or projects of the Post Office were overseen by the Government since 1 January 2000; and if so, what they were and how were they managed.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Government has not overseen any specific project at the Post Office. It is important that the company is allowed to run as an independent, commercial business, albeit in compliance with the principles set out in Managing Public Money.
My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has appointed a Non-Executive Director (NED) on the POL Board since its separation from Royal Mail in 2012. From 2014 onwards this role has been performed by UKGI (previously the Shareholder Executive).
Before 2012, there was no representation at Board level (within Royal Mail Group). The Shareholder Executive provided a monitoring function and reported to the relevant department (BEIS, BIS, BERR and DTI).
The BEIS Permanent Secretary has some key controls of the Post Office – namely approval of the annual business plan, some financing aspects of the company and approval of any specific commitments above £50m.
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 Accounting Officer with responsibility for the Post Office has played any role in advising ministers on the Government’s policy in relation to (1) the faults in Horizon software; (2) the treatment by the Post Office of sub-postmasters in relation to allegations of alleged criminal behaviour by sub-postmasters; (3) the sub-postmasters’ litigation against the Post Office; and (4) the establishment of the review into the Horizon issues.
Answered by Lord Callanan - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Energy Security and Net Zero)
The Principal Accounting Officer (PAO) responsible for Post Office Ltd. (POL) is the BEIS Permanent Secretary.
Issues regarding POL’s IT system and its relationship with postmasters are operational matters in which the PAO and Ministers relied on information provided by POL senior management.
Following the Common Issues Judgment in March 2019, POL advised Ministers that it intended to change its approach to the litigation. This included changes to the POL legal team and strategy, and ultimately led to the successful mediation in December 2019.
The Independent Review into Post Office and the issues highlighted by the litigation was approved within Government at all levels, including by the BEIS Permanent Secretary.
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 measures they have put in place to protect against geomagnetic disturbances; and whether they have published, or intend to publish, the details of any such measures.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Government has assessed the risk of geomagnetic disturbances from Space Weather and identified actions to manage the risks, these are set out in the National Risk Register (2017 edition) on Gov.uk.
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, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 19 November 2018 (HL11350), how many such requests for permission have been requested by Post Office Limited under that Article within the last two years.
Answered by Lord Henley
The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.
Within the last two years, Post Office Limited has not submitted any requests under Article 11.1(O) of its Articles of Association to incur a commitment or liability of more than £50 million.