Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas on Tuesday (8) announced the launch of the new, independent, appeals process for eligible postmasters in the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS).
Postmasters who feel their financial settlement did not reflect the true extent of their losses and trauma will be able to appeal their settlement ensuring they receive full, fair and swift redress.
Eligible postmasters and their legal representatives will be written to later this month and applications for the new Appeals process will begin to be accepted by the end of April.
HSS is for current and former postmasters who believe they experienced shortfalls related to previous versions of the Horizon system.
Post Office Minister Gareth Thomas said, "It is our priority that all those who were unjustly affected by the Horizon IT scandal receive full, fair and swift redress and today’s measures are the next step in providing that.
"Since taking office, the total amount of redress paid to victims has increased by more than three and a half times with £892 million having now been paid to over 6,200 claimants.
"There is still more to do, and I am committed to this task until every affected postmaster receives the redress they rightly deserve."
The Government also announced that each Directly Managed Branch (DMBs) will be franchised so that Post Office services remain available to local communities.
There will also be a further £276.9 million in funding for the Post Office to help support the breadth of the network. This will enable Post Office to deliver technology transformation and give them the resources to continue administering redress payments to postmasters.
There will also be a scheme launched next month to provide redress to postmasters who faced issues with Post Office products, polices or processes.
As of March 31, 2025, approximately £892 million has been paid to over 6,200 claimants across four schemes:
- £454 million in the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS), including interim payments
- £67 million in the Overturned Convictions (OC) scheme, including interim payments
- £150 million in the Group Litigation Order (GLO) scheme, including interim payments
- £221 million in the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS), including interim payments
