The government has announced a new redress scheme for family members of postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal.
According to the government, the scheme “recognises that the scandal’s devastating consequences were experienced not just by those running post offices, but also by those closest to them.”
The scheme, expected to open in summer, was designed to be “accessible and straightforward” with “minimal bureaucracy to ensure families receive redress without delay”, claimed the government.
To be eligible for the scheme, claimants must demonstrate that they were the partner, spouse, child, parent, or sibling of the affected postmaster, and that they were living with the postmaster at the time the postmaster was affected by the Horizon scandal.
The scheme offers two routes to compensation.
Family members who can provide evidence of personal injury, or who have an ongoing medical condition arising from the Horizon scandal, can apply for a full assessed personal injury claim.
For those who cannot provide this level of evidence, the government has created an “events-based route”. Under this pathway, relatives of postmasters who experienced one of the scandal’s most severe consequences - such as criminal prosecution or bankruptcy - will be eligible for a fixed-rate “recognition payment” without needing to demonstrate personal harm.
Applicants with both event‑based and individually assessed claims will have to choose one route for their award, rather than receiving payments from both, said Post Office minister Blair McDougall.
Where applicants are eligible for both routes, they can view both offers and select the higher award to ensure they are not “unfairly disadvantaged”, he added.
In a letter to the founders of Lost Chances, a campaign group for families affected by the scandal, McDougall said the flat-rate payments will differ from what individuals might have received through an evidence-based personal injury claim. “However, given the evidential problems, the alternative would have been to give them no compensation at all,” he said.
Lost Chances has been involved in the design of the scheme alongside other postmasters and interested groups.
McDougall said the “appropriate level” for recognition payments was still under review. A potential comparator was the £15,120 paid to relatives under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 in the event of wrongful death, he added.
“The Horizon scandal caused immeasurable harm - not just to the postmasters wrongly accused of crimes, but to their families who stood beside and suffered alongside them,” said McDougall.
“Today’s scheme recognises that harm and will make sure those families receive the support they deserve, as quickly and simply as possible.
“We have listened carefully to those affected and designed this scheme to reach as many people as we can without putting unnecessary barriers in their way.”
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