POL00025801
POL00025801
Strictly Confidential and Legally Privileged
POST OFFICE LTD BOARD SUB COMMITTEE
Initial Complaints Review and Mediation Scheme
Ministerial Commitments
1. Purpose
This paper has been prepared following the initial meeting of the Board Sub Committee on
the Initial Complaints Review and Mediation Scheme (the Scheme) on 9 April. At that
meeting the programme team were asked to produce a paper setting out the ministerial
commitments with regard to the Scheme and timescales.
2. Background
This paper looks at the ministerial commitments that have been made including within:
¢ Ministerial statement in Parliament on the 9" July in response to the interim report
produced by Second Sight
* Written response to parliamentary questions asked by lan Murray MP on the 31%
October
¢ Ministerial correspondence.
3. Summary of ministerial commitments
The Minister has said very little about the Scheme itself. The majority of her comments were
made during the debate on the interim report which was before the Scheme was designed or
announced. The following list sets out the key commitments she has made where they
could be deemed relevant to the Scheme:
e Working Party will consider all 47 cases bought forward by JFSA and MPs
e Independent figure will chair a review
e Independence of process
« Second Sight and JFSA Working Party
e Further work on cases must be independent
e Working Party must be independent
¢ James Arbuthnot and JFSA recipient of further cases
e Application open from 27th August — 18th November 2013
e« Working Group is independent of Government and is responsible for meeting the
recommendations set out in the interim report
4. Ministerial Commitments
Initial Complaints Review and Mediation Scheme
Ministerial Commitments
Mark Davies Page 1 of 3 30 April 2014
Strictly Confidential and Legally Privileged
POL00025801
POL00025801
Summary Commitment
Ministerial Commitments (Statement
or PQ)
Correspondence
No Systemic Issues with
Horizon system
Statement:
It did not find evidence of systemic failures;
that is not to say there has never been a
bug in the system, but I defy anyone to find
an IT system that has never had a bug.
What is important is that when bugs are
found, they are dealt with and the problems
are rectified. What has not been found,
however, is any systemic problem leading to
the issues faced by sub-postmasters,
although there have been issues with the
support and training provided alongside
Horizon.
‘No remote
access to the
system or
individual branch
terminals’
07.12.2010
Working Party will consider all
47 cases bought forward by
JFSA and MPS
Statement:
First, it will set up a working party to
complete the review of cases started by
Second Sight, and will consider all 47 cases
brought forward by the Justice for
Subpostmasters Alliance—the JFSA—and
MPs
Independent figure will chair a
review
Statement:
Secondly, an independent figure will chair a
review to determine how best to adjudicate
disputed cases in future. The JFSA and other
stakeholders will also be invited to take part
in this process.
Independence of process
Statement:
It is important that any further work is not
only independent, but seen to be
independent
Second Sight to be part of the
Working Party
Statement:
I shall happily give the hon. Gentleman that
assurance [That Second Sight will be part of
the working party].
Further work on cases is
independent
Statement:
we need to ensure that the further work on
cases where there are outstanding queries
is independent
Working Party must be
independent
Statement:
Yes, I am happy to give my hon. Friend an
assurance that the working party will be
independent.
If other cases should come
forward we would not want to
deny them the opportunity for
this to happen
Statement:
On the hon. Gentleman’s first point, I can
certainly give an assurance that if there are
other cases that need to come forward, we
would not want to deny those people the
Initial Complaints Review and Mediation Scheme
Ministerial Commitments
Mark Davies
Page 2 of 3
30 April 2014
Strictly Confidential and Legally Privileged
POL00025801
POL00025801
opportunity for that to happen.
JFSA represented in Working
Group
Statement:
The independent working group, which will
include representation from the Justice for
Subpostmasters Alliance, will help to ensure
that that happens swiftly and without
compromising the details that need to be
gone into.
James Arbuthnot and JFSA
recipient of further cases
Statement:
I should point out that one avenue for
highlighting any further cases would be to
bring them to the attention of the Justice
for Subpostmasters Alliance, which will be
part of the independent working group. I
hesitate to suggest, although I am probably
safe in doing so, that my right hon. Friend
the Member for North East Hampshire (Mr
Arbuthnot) would also be happy to continue
in his role as a recipient for any such cases.
‘Further case can
be put forward to
review by Second
Sight’ 11.07.2013
Application open from 27"
August — 18" November 2013
31° October Jo Swinson Written Answer to
lan Murray: ‘Subpostmasters who wish to
have their case considered by the Initial
Mediation Scheme have until 18"
November 2013 to submit their
applications. The scheme opened on 27"
August 2013.’
Working Group is independent
of Government and is
responsible for meeting the
recommendations set out in
the interim report
31° October Jo Swinson Written Answer to
Jan Murray:
‘The Working group is independent of
Government, and is responsible for meeting
the recommendations set out in the interim
report’.
Mark Davies
Initial Complaints Review and Mediation Scheme
Ministerial Commitments
Mark Davies
Page 3 of 3
30 April 2014
30 April 2014