MPs have said they share claimant lawyers' concern that victims of the Post Office scandal are still not getting compensation as quickly as they should.

A report by the Commons business and trade committee finds that ‘serious structural failings’ remain in the redress scheme set up after the Horizon IT scandal. Thousands of eligible claimants are believed to still be waiting for compensation and victims still face unacceptable delays, inadequate offers, and administrative processes that ‘re‑traumatise’ those who have already been seriously wronged, the committee reports. 

More than 11,300 claimants have not received payments despite £1.44 billion being distributed.

Committee chair Liam Byrne said: ‘For hundreds of sub-postmasters, justice has come far too slowly. Many have waited years for the truth to be recognised and for the compensation they are owed. Yet today we find serious structural failings still blocking the road to justice.

‘Thousands of victims are still waiting for fair redress, while the processes designed to help them are too often slow, bureaucratic and re-traumatising. That is simply unacceptable after one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in British history.’

The committee's report states that MPs recognise the challenges the government faces in notifying sub-postmasters of their right to redress, particularly where contact details are unavailable or where individuals are reluctant to engage, due to their trauma and mistrust in the system. But they echo claimant lawyers’ concern that many affected people are still unable to access the redress they are owed.

The committee recommends that Post Office Ltd and the government make every effort to ensure that outstanding offers are issued and remaining claims are fully settled and paid by the end of this year.

During the evidence sessions hosted by the committee, claimant lawyer Dr Neil Hudgell told MPs that the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS), which is still managed by the Post Office, was ‘broken’ and continued to ‘churn out ridiculously low offers’. This forces a lot of claimants to go through an appeal process. Law firms representing victims depicted the HSS as an unnecessary hurdle that must be cleared before a claimant can move to the appeal and receive a fair award – all of which takes two to three years.

Claimants’ lawyers and the Post Office told the committee that the lack of access to free, upfront legal advice continued to cause significant problems for applicants in the HSS. Lawyers stated that the absence of early legal support led to poorly-evidenced claims.