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Project Sparrow — 05 January 2016
Chairman’s Review
1. The barristers’ investigations into the adequacy of Scheme processes are now in their final stages,
and a first draft report is currently being reviewed by the QC, Jonathan Swift. We expect
Jonathan to have completed his review by the end of this week, at which point the draft will be
sent to the Chairman for his consideration. The three of them will then meet to finalise the
report, likely in the second half of the month.
Possible litigation
2. Freeths have responded to Jane MacLeod’s request that they clarify the terms of their
engagement by the JFSA. Their reply confirms that litigation is being “contemplated” but that
they are not yet in a position to issue a Letter of Claim, and give no indication as to when they
might be. Rodric Williams is drafting a response, with a request that they identify the possible
claimants, so that Post Office can preserve the relevant documents.
BBC
3. We are escalating our complaint about the August Panorama Broadcast to the BBC Editorial
Complaints Unit, which reviews complaints independently of the programme makers, having
received inadequate responses to our previous letters. We are also seeking to ensure fairer
treatment of Post Office should there be further reporting.
Case Statistics
Applications to the Scheme 150
Applications rejected (ineligible) 4
Cases resolved prior to entry into the Scheme 10
Cases accepted into the Scheme 136
No. of cases not Cases POL found unsuitable for mediation 42
suitable for Cases the WG found unsuitable for mediation 2
mediation: 48 Cases closed owing to a missing / ill applicant 4
Residual I 88
Cases resolved during investigation 5
Cases resolved prior to mediation meeting 2
Cases resolved at mediation 22
. Cases not resolved at mediation 20
we. of cases suitable Cases mediated but not yet concluded 0
or mediation: Cases with CEDR with a date for mediation agreed 9
Cases in which POL offered to mediate but the applicant refused I 7
to mediate / engage with POL (includes e.g. Alan Bates)
Cases with CEDR with a date for mediation agreed but where the I 23
applicant has since decided to withdraw from the process
Residual I 0
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Mediations
4. As at 05/01/2016, 39 cases have been resolved, 22 of which have been resolved through
mediation. The remainder were resolved either prior to Scheme entry (10), mid Scheme (5) or
prior to a mediation meeting taking place (2).
5. In total, there have been 42 mediations that have taken place to date, with 52% of these being
resolved. A further 9 mediations are scheduled to take place between now and 1 February 2016,
at which point, from an operational perspective at least, the formal, external-facing, part of the
Scheme will come to a close.
6. 30 applicants have, for a variety of reasons, chosen to withdraw from mediation (23 of which
having previously settled on a date since 4 September). We believe this to be the product of a
range of reasons, rather than attributable to a single event/belief, including:
- More realistic advice being provided to Applicants by professional advisers as to the merits
of their respective cases;
- The need to substantiate assertions made in front of an independent mediator;
- Alate realisation that the Scheme is not a compensation Scheme, but a mediation Scheme;
and
- Pressure from JFSA (or those close to it) to hold out for a better deal (presumably
compensation) as a result of a class action and/or Government intervention.
7. Many of these cases would not, save for our decision in March 2015 to commit to mediation in all
non-criminal cases, have proceeded to mediation in normal circumstances.
Ex Gratia payments
8. Of the 39 cases have been resolved either through mediation or other routes (e.g. mid scheme,
prior to mediation etc), 26 involved ex gratia payments, totalling £209,000. The range of
payments made is £461 to £50,000.
DSARs / CCRC
9. As at 05/01/2016, there have been:
© 23 cases referred to the CCRC, of which 19 are from Scheme applicants; and
© 47 DSARs (44 are from Scheme applicants). All of which, with the exception of two which
were received in December 2015, are now closed, save for the electronic files held by
Second Sight.
Costs
10. At the end of Period 12 14/15, Sparrow had an aggregate spend of c.£7.4m since August 2013.
We currently estimate 15/16 spend to be below £3m.