Lord Polak

The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues currently being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Government are carefully considering volume 1 of the report. Once the inquiry has established the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, where appropriate.

In January 2024, Fujitsu committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes. It will bid for work with existing government customers only where it already has a contract with them or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.

Individual contracting authorities are responsible for the award and management of contracts. With regard to scrutiny during procurement processes, the Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.

The National Procurement Policy Statement asks contracting authorities to ensure they have the appropriate procurement and contract management skills and capability necessary to deliver public contracts and encourages the use of collaborative procurement frameworks, where appropriate, to deliver value for money.

To provide transparency, the government regularly publishes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for its most important contracts, and the performance of the vendor against those KPIs.

The impact of the Horizon scandal on postmasters and their families has been horrendous. The Government is determined to hold those responsible to account and will continue to seek to make rapid progress on compensation and redress. Fujitsu’s role in Horizon is one of the issues currently being reviewed by Sir Wyn Williams’s statutory inquiry. The Government are carefully considering volume 1 of the report. Once the inquiry has established the full facts, we will review its final report and consider any further action, where appropriate.

In January 2024, Fujitsu committed to withdraw from bidding for contracts with new government customers until the Post Office Horizon inquiry concludes. It will bid for work with existing government customers only where it already has a contract with them or where there is an agreed need for Fujitsu’s skills and capabilities.

Individual contracting authorities are responsible for the award and management of contracts. With regard to scrutiny during procurement processes, the Procurement Act 2023 enables and, where appropriate, requires the exclusion of suppliers where they pose particular risks to public procurement. The Cabinet Office has issued substantial guidance for departments, available on gov.uk. The exclusions regime provides a framework within which contracting authorities must consider a supplier’s recent past behaviour and circumstances (or their presence on the debarment list) to determine whether it should be allowed to compete for or be awarded a public contract.

The National Procurement Policy Statement asks contracting authorities to ensure they have the appropriate procurement and contract management skills and capability necessary to deliver public contracts and encourages the use of collaborative procurement frameworks, where appropriate, to deliver value for money.

To provide transparency, the government regularly publishes Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for its most important contracts, and the performance of the vendor against those KPIs.

Seven Fujitsu contracts have been extended by HMRC in the past 12 months to ensure continuity of essential services. These are: the Call-Off Contract for COTS Software (Oracle), Crown Hosting Run, Data Services, Data Project Services, Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) and Vulnerability Managed Service, Pre-Production Environment (PPE) Web Solutions, and the Trader Support Service. As a public contracting authority, HMRC adheres to the procurement rules and spend controls set by the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury, obtaining appropriate ministerial approval where required. Of the seven contracts, six had extension values below the Cabinet Office Spend Control threshold of £20 million and were approved internally by HMRC in line with established processes and governance controls. Only one contract—the Trader Support Service—exceeded the threshold (£66.8 million) and therefore required both Cabinet Office Spend Control and Ministerial Approval.

As a public contracting authority, HMRC follows government procurement rules, including the Public Contracts Regulations 2015, to ensure value for money and robust risk management. The current Trader Support Service (TSS) contract was procured in full compliance with these regulations, as will the replacement contract. HMRC applies the government’s Sourcing Playbook throughout its commercial activity, which includes rigorous risk assessments and financial due diligence. These processes are designed to ensure that suppliers can deliver critical services and that risks—whether operational, reputational, or legal—are identified and mitigated. HMRC maintains active contract management arrangements to monitor performance and ensure continuity of service.

The Trader Support Services contract was procured in compliance with the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. Existing service delivery is managed robustly by contract management teams in compliance with this legislation and to ensure that the requirements of UK traders are met under the Windsor Framework.

The Home Office keeps all polices relating to national security and public safety under regular review, in consultation with a wide range of experts and stakeholders.