Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he has taken to tackle compensation delays for people impacted by the Horizon Post Office scandal; what steps he is taking to (a) close the loophole that allows the Post Office to reset the compensation timeline by requesting information and (b) improve (i) transparency and (ii) accountability in the process.

The Government is doing all it can to increase the pace of redress across all four Horizon compensation schemes. We are making upfront fixed offers and making interim and partial payments where possible. We continue to seek options to speed up redress in discussion with the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board.

Requests for information are intended to enable the Post Office and Department to increase its offers to claimants, including where there is a reasonable concern about the basis of calculation. We continue to work to ensure that requests are only issued where necessary, with communication of these requests handled sensitively and in the interests of claimants.