Post Office compensation happening far too slowly, damning report finds

Compensation for Post Office scandal victims is still moving "too slowly", a damning report has found.

Cross-party MPs found not enough is being done to make sure those affected by the Horizon IT failings are applying for payouts. One scheme for wrongly convicted postmasters has not had a single full claim, the Public Accounts Committee found.

It says the Government has taken "insufficient action" to make sure those who are entitled to compensation actually receive it. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, who chairs the committee, said: "Thousands of people were failed deeply by the system.

"This Committee would have hoped to have found government laser-focused on ensuring all those eligible were fully and fairly compensated for what happened. It is deeply dissatisfactory to find these schemes still moving far too slowly, with no government plans to track down the majority of potential claimants who may not yet be aware of their proper entitlements."

By March the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) had written to 18,500 people making them aware of the Horizon Shortfall Scheme. But just one in five letters received a response - and there are no plans to follow up, the committee report said.

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MPs found that 25 of 111 eligible victims had not applied to another scheme relating to convictions in the most complex cases. Sir Geoffrey said: "It is entirely unacceptable that those affected by this scandal, some of whom have had to go through the courts to clear their names, are being forced to relitigate their cases a second time."

More than 700 postmasters were wrongly convicted, and many more suffered after dodgy computer systems made it look like money was missing from their branches.

Elsewhere the committee found the department had been "dangerously flatfooted" in trying to recoup nearly £2billion in Covid-related fraud.

It found DBT had recovered just £130million in payouts from lenders, while the National Investigation Service (NATIS) had got back a "minimal" £8.6million from Bounce Back loan fraud. Business owners inflated their turnover to secure more cash to stay afloat during the crisis, costing the taxpayer huge sums.

Sir Geoffrey said: "DBT were unable to tell us if even the tiny fraction of that sum recovered was in fact even related to fraud. Indeed, relying on government-backed lenders to recover losses, who thus lack any incentive to pursue lost funds, has been a dangerously flatfooted approach.

"Now that the Insolvency Service has taken over responsibility for viable cases, we look forward to hearing how it fares where others have failed."