The Chair of the Horizon Compensation Advisory Board, Professor Chris Hodges, has called for the formation of a new compensation authority, with the statutory power to assess, decide and deliver compensation for victims of scandals.

In a paper recently published on the HCAB section of the government’s website, Professor Hodges believes there is a need for an independent body with statutory powers to provide “quicker and less stressful access to redress” than the current “adversarial” system, which he calls “slow, expensive, and inherently divisive.”

Professor Hodges advocates a government-controlled process, which investigates problems, identifies and mandates the change needed and processes redress quickly. When I asked him how and why victims of a scandal perpetrated by the government should trust the government to put it right, Hodges said it would come via “independence and independent governance [employing] trusted serious people, separate from government, which is what the public sector ombudsmen currently are, they just need more powers.”

Still in the spotlight

Last night, at the National Television Awards, former Subpostmaster Jo Hamilton told an outraged audience:

“I went to Westminster a couple of weeks back and saw the new minister. And trust me, nothing has changed… it’s true… and all of these people behind me haven’t been paid yet. And out of the group of 555, more than 300 haven’t been paid yet, including Sir Alan Bates. They’ve offered him 30% of his claim.”

Given the High Court came down resoundingly in favour of those 555 Subpostmasters in December 2019 – nearly five years ago – you can understand why Jo’s speech caused uproar in O2 last night. When the GLO scheme for the 555 was announced in 2023, the government said everyone who qualified had to be compensated (by law) by August 2024. Beyond the 555 Subpostmasters involved in the High Court action, there are thousands more who have signed up to the Horizon Shortfall Scheme since 2020. As Professor Hodges points out, the HSS scheme has paid out £180m at a cost of £83m.

The whole system is a mess. On Monday the government announced it was reopening the Horizon Shortfall Scheme to those who had already settled their claims, in acknowledgment that the scheme was set up to be unfair, or as the government press release has it: “when the Horizon Shortfall Scheme opened in 2020, some claimants were unable to set out their claim in full. This new appeals process will provide postmasters with the opportunity to have their claim re-assessed with the benefit of new or additional information they can provide.”

There are currently four Subpostmaster compensation schemes which have only managed to pay out a total of £289m to applicants, despite the government setting aside more than £1bn pounds in 2021 to pay for them. The only winners in this are the lawyers.

Not just about the money

In his paper Hodges also suggests victims could be involved in advising on the manner of delivering redress. He writes “there is considerable evidence that the involvement of stakeholders in the design and oversight of arrangements, as well as of trusted independent people, is highly beneficial.”

Interestingly Hodges says this should not just be about money, writing that: “traditional redress is based around providing money as compensation. Yet many victims are suffering from serious psychological harm, which can be made worse by involvement in a long, impersonal, confusing or legalistic process. What they need is care, therapy and support – and quickly. Neither the legalistic redress system (which is inherently adversarial and aggressive, hence making psychological equilibrium worse rather than better) nor the NHS are geared to deliver this currency of response.”

Hodges’ paper refers to existing models in the private sector in this country and wider public sector models in other countries which he says work better. I’m not sure I share his effusiveness about the effectiveness of private sector regulators in the UK, but I think most people would agree that he is right when he says the current system simply does not deliver just outcomes.

Not every scandal has an Alan Bates to lead from the front. And even he has not fixed the problem yet. Though as Jo Hamilton said last night, Sir Alan “has a plan. So when he gets back to the nation for help, please be there to support him.”

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