Referral of the proposed Post Office Remediation Unit and Inquiry and IR35 liability costs subsidy by the Department for Business and Trade
The Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) has accepted a request for a report providing advice to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) concerning its proposed subsidy to Post Office Limited.
Administrative timetable
| Date | Action |
|---|---|
| 10 March 2026 | SAU’s report to be published |
| 11 February 2026 | Deadline for receipt of any third-party submissions |
| 28 January 2026 | Beginning of reporting period |
Request from DBT
28 January 2026: The SAU has accepted a request for a report from DBT concerning the proposed Post Office Remediation Unit and Inquiry and IR35 liability costs subsidy. This request relates to a Subsidy of Particular Interest.
The SAU will prepare a report, which will provide an evaluation of DBT’s assessment of whether the subsidy complies with the subsidy control requirements (Assessment of Compliance). The SAU will complete its report within 30 working days.
Information about the subsidy provided by DBT
DBT intends to provide the Post Office Limited (POL) with a subsidy of up to £141,841,811 to enable the company to continue to take action in response to the Horizon IT scandal, as well as enabling POL’s historic IR35 tax liability to be settled.
POL has been receiving funding from the Government since 2023 to enable it to cover the costs of running its Remediation Unit and Inquiry response team. The Remediation Unit is responsible for delivering redress to postmasters affected by the Horizon IT system and other operational failures.
For the Remediation Unit and Inquiry element, the subsidy will provide funding of up to £37.4 million in the Financial Year 2026 to 2027 for POL to be able to continue to meet the costs of:
- delivering financial redress to postmasters affected by the Horizon scandal and undertaking associated remediation activities
- participating in the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry
This element of the proposed subsidy is a continuation of restructuring subsidy awards on which the SAU published reports in November 2023 and March 2025.
The Government considers that it is important that Post Office Limited continues to deliver financial redress and participate effectively in the Inquiry as it reaches its conclusion, in line with public commitments. The Government is therefore proposing to provide additional financial support to the company to ensure it can continue these activities.
DBT, which is also the sole shareholder of Post Office Limited, will continue to provide oversight of the company to ensure that financial redress is delivered quickly and effectively to affected postmasters and that operational costs are well managed. Grant payments for Remediation Unit and Inquiry activity costs will be released on a reimbursement basis and will be subject to regular reporting from Post Office Limited.
In relation to IR35, DBT intends to provide funding of up to £104,441,881 to HMRC to cover POL’s historic IR35 tax liability (and associated corporation tax) with the aim of protecting the post office network, as POL is not in a position to fund it.
Information for third parties
If you wish to comment on matters relevant to the SAU’s evaluation of the Assessment of Compliance concerning the proposed Post Office Remediation Unit and Inquiry and IR35 liability costs subsidy, please send your comments on the date stipulated in the timetable above. For guidance on representations relevant to the Assessment of Compliance, see the section on reporting period and transparency in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.
Please send your submissions to us at sau-postofficeremediationandIR35@cma.gov.uk, copying the public authority: postofficepolicyandfunding@businessandtrade.gov.uk.
Please also provide a contact address and explain in what capacity you are making the submission (for example, as an individual or a representative of a business or organisation).
Notes to third parties wishing to make a submission
The SAU will only take your submission into account if it can be shared with DBT. The SAU will send a copy of your submission to DBT together with its report. This is to allow the public authority to take account of the submission in its decision as to whether to grant or modify the subsidy or its assessment. We therefore ask that you provide express consent for your full and unredacted submission to be shared. We also encourage you to share your submission directly with DBT using the email address provided above.
The SAU may use the information you provide in its published report. Therefore, you should indicate in your submission whether any specified parts of it are commercially confidential. If the SAU wishes to refer in its published report to material identified as confidential, it will contact you in advance.
For further details on confidentiality of third party submissions, see identifying confidential information in the Operation of the subsidy control functions of the Subsidy Advice Unit.
Contacts
- SAU project team: sau-postofficeremediationandIR35@cma.gov.uk
- CMA press team: 020 3738 6460 or press@cma.gov.uk