Horizon compensation Bill will not include legally binding timeframes for payments

Legally binding timeframes for Horizon scandal compensation payments will not be included in a new Bill, the Government has confirmed.

Former sub-postmaster Alan Bates accused ministers of seeing deadlines as a “rod for their own backs” - as victims continue to wait for months for payouts.

On Wednesday, the Government unveiled the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Bill, which is set to exonerate hundreds of former sub-postmasters.

More than 900 postmasters were wrongfully prosecuted as a result of faulty Fujitsu software, which reported shortfalls at their branches that did not exist.

However, Post Office minister Kevin Hollinrake told the Commons the Bill would not include legally binding timeframes, to ensure victims received payouts in a timely manner.

It was a measure recommended by the Business and Trade Committee - and first suggested by Mr Bates, whose fight for justice was dramatised in the series Mr Bates vs The Post Office.

Responding to the news, Mr Bates told The Telegraph: “The Government doesn’t want to set deadlines because then they would have to stick to them - all they would be making is a rod for their own backs.

“Every scheme should have deadlines for people which make it clear when they will receive an offer and payout.

“I don’t see any reason why this shouldn’t be the case  - plenty of other industries don’t have problems with setting fixed timeframes.”

A sum of £1billion has been put aside by the Government to financially redress Horizon victims - yet just 20 per cent of the fund has been paid out so far.

Last week, the Government was urged to set “legally binding timeframes” for each stage of compensation claims in a report published by the Business and Trade Committee.

Liam Byrne, the Committee chairman, named this recommendation the “Mr Bates Test” after the former sub-postmaster proposed the idea in a hearing.

The report also concluded that the Post Office was “not fit for purpose to administer any schemes of redress”.

Mr Hollinrake confirmed on Wednesday the Department of Business and Trade would be responsible for delivering payouts to victims whose convictions are quashed under the new bill.

Yet the Post Office would continue to be involved in the claims of those who already have been exonerated in courts - of which more than a hundred have.

Mr Hollinrake told MPs removing the organisation’s involvement in claims that were already submitted would cause further delays.

Defending the decision not to impose timeframes, Mr Hollinrake said: “I strongly support the Committee’s desire to speed up redress.

“We feel their proposed regime would have the opposite impact.”

He added: “It would mean potentially imposing penalties on forensic accountants or others who are helping postmasters to prepare their claims.”

Addressing Mr Hollinrake in the Commons, Mr Byrne, Business and Trade Committee Chairman said: “The proposed new law is an important step forward but it’s not ‘job done’.

“The Post Office is still left in charge of processing too many claims when it’s patently not fit for purpose.

“There’s no legally binding timeframe for tabling offers to victims once their claims are in, and nor is there any standard guidance of what victims are entitled to.

He added: “So, we’ve got a lot of work still to do to get this Bill right for victims who have suffered so much and for so long.”

Rishi Sunak said the proposed Bill “marks an important step forward in finally clearing” the names of hundreds of wronged branch managers who have had their lives “callously torn apart”.

The proposed legislation will automatically exonerate those convicted provided they meet a set criteria including that offences were carried out between 1996 and 2018 - and that they were relevant offences such as theft, fraud and false accounting.

The Government will also bring forward “enhanced” financial redress for postmasters who, while not convicted or part of legal action against the Post Office, made good the apparent losses caused by the Horizon system from their own pockets.

They will be entitled to a fixed sum award of £75,000 through the Horizon Shortfall Scheme.

The Government hopes the Bill will receive royal assent and become law before the start of Parliament’s summer recess.

A Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: “We do not view legislative deadlines as sensible as they put undue pressure on claimants and parliament voted to remove the statutory deadline for the GLO scheme in January.

“It is important we get this right and more complicated claims where individuals choose to go through the full assessment route will understandably take longer to assess, as we take into account the full impact on individuals, including on their health as well as finances.”