Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the remarks by Lord Offord of Garvel on 13 May (HL Deb col 456), what were the titles of the cases prosecuted by the Department of Work and Pensions against postmasters in England and Wales, and in each case what was (1) the date of proceedings, (2) the location of the court, and (3) the outcome.

The Department is aware of 61 Post Office members of staff who were prosecuted by DWP between 2001 and 2006. Each of the cases involved welfare-related fraud offences. In most cases this involved encashment of stolen benefit payment order books. There is no evidence that any of the cases prosecuted by DWP relied on the Horizon system. They followed lengthy, complex investigations, relying on multiple sources of evidence.

Until 2012, DWP prosecuted its own cases. The cases were handled by DWP Solicitors who would instruct Counsel to represent DWP at Court. In March 2012, the prosecutorial function of the DWP was assigned to the Crown Prosecution Service.

In the early 2000’s the Department moved to paying benefits automatically into people’s bank accounts which significantly reduced the opportunity for benefit fraud, including potential offences by Post Office staff.

To assist, please find attached a table setting out the information the Department holds for each of the 61 cases. The information includes the date of conviction, the location of the court, and the sentence (outcome) for each of the 61 cases.