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ae
Department Department
for Culture for Business
Media & Sport Innovation & Skills
Baroness Neville-Rolfe DBE CMG
Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
and Minister for Intellectual Property
Kevan Jones MP 1 Victoria Street
London
House of Commons SWiH OET
London
SW1A 0AA
www.gov.uk/bis,
14 August 2015
Dear Mr Jones,
Thank you for attending the meeting on 14 July to discuss the Post Office and your concerns
around the Horizon IT system. I said that I would write to you to follow up on our discussions at
that meeting.
As the Prime Minister said, this is certainly an important issue. The Government, as the sole
shareholder of Post Office Limited, wants to make sure that the Post Office network is
successful and sustainable across the country. We recognise that the Post Office is a
commercial business and we allow it to operate as such, but of course, we expect it to behave
fairly and responsibly in doing so.
You raised a number of points in our meeting that I wanted to ensure I followed up before
writing to you. I thought you may be interested to know that I am meeting with James Arbuthnot
next month. You also emphasised the importance of Second Sight’s work.
I have also spoken to Post Office and I am confident that they take very seriously their
responsibilities to subpostmasters, and that they are committed to ensuring those individuals
who have raised concerns can have their cases heard. You will be aware that Post Office
Limited have a new Chairman, Tim Parker, who will take up his role formally in October. I have
asked Mr Parker to ensure that when he takes up his role he gives this matter his earliest
attention. I hope his fresh pair of eyes will provide some further reassurance to you.
The most important point is to ensure that those individuals who feel they have a grievance can
have their case heard. Where an individual has a criminal conviction, they should consider
whether they wish to appeal that conviction, or they can raise their case with the Criminal Cases
Review Commission. I understand that a number of individuals with prosecutions have done so.
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Post Office remain committed to the mediation scheme, and have offered to mediate in all cases
not involving a criminal conviction. As you are aware, mediation can be a useful way for
opposed parties to come to a resolution, and individuals in the scheme are being offered the
chance to do so with costs (including their own legal advice) being met by Post Office. They can
also be reassured that mediations are conducted by an independent mediator from the Centre
for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR) who ensure it is conducted in line with best practice.
The Government hopes that all individuals who have been offered mediation will give this
opportunity full consideration. Of course, if an individual chooses not to mediate or if mediation
is unsuccessful then the individual still has the chance to pursue other legal routes for resolution
of their case.
I would add that Members of Parliament have a role to play in supporting their constituents and
helping them to understand the situation and their options. Post Office have offered to meet any
MP to discuss the details of their individual constituents’ cases, and the Government
encourages MPs to take the Post Office up on that offer. A number of MPs have already done
so and have found the meeting useful in increasing their understanding of the issues at hand.
I hope you will be reassured that the Government has given this matter serious consideration,
and moreover, that there are independently assured processes in place to enable individuals to
resolve their differences with Post Office or seek redress. I would like to thank you for your
efforts in raising the concerns of your constituents and others who have raised concerns, and I
hope that you will continue to help ensure they are able to find resolution.
I am writing in similar terms to Andrew Bridgen.
BARONESS NEVILLE-ROLFE DBE CMG