Guidance

Post Office (Horizon) Inquiry - User Guide

Updated 13 October 2026

1. Quick Start

This dashboard provides an interactive overview of recommendations from the Post Office (Horizon) Inquiry, and progress updates. Data is updated periodically to reflect the latest positions.

The dashboard was redesigned for the October 2026 update. Earlier updates (February 2026 and May 2026) are still shown exactly as they were first published, so you can compare earlier positions with the latest one. Because the two designs work differently, this guide includes instructions for each.

2. How to Use

• Choose an Update: Use the “View as of:” dropdown at the top right of the dashboard. The latest update is shown by default
• Updates From October 2026 Onwards: Follow the instructions under “New Dashboard Design (October 2026 Update Onwards)”
• Earlier Updates: The February 2026 and May 2026 updates use the original design. Follow the instructions under “Original Dashboard Design (February 2026 and May 2026 Updates)”

3. New Dashboard Design (October 2026 Update Onwards)

3.1 Overview Section

• Summary Section: View the total number of recommendations and how many are completed, in progress or rejected, including the percentage completed
• Since Previous Update: See which recommendations have changed since the previous update: a new delivery status, a new government response, or an updated progress statement. If nothing has changed, this section says so
• Distribution: Two bars show how recommendations are split by government response and by delivery status. Select part of a bar to filter the list of recommendations to that group
• Progress Across Updates: A chart shows the delivery status of all recommendations at each update, so you can see how progress has changed over time

3.2 Data Exploration

• Search: Search for any word in a recommendation, its government response or its progress update, or search for a recommendation number (for example, 17 or #17)
• Filter Buttons: Filter by delivery status or by government response. Select “Recent changes” to see only recommendations that changed at that update. Select “All” to clear the filter. Rejected recommendations are found with the “Rejected” filter, which covers both the government response and the delivery status
• Sort: Sort by recommendation number, by delivery status, or with the most recently updated recommendations first
• Table or Cards: Switch between a table of recommendations and a card view
• Recommendation Detail View: Select “View” next to any recommendation (or select its card) to see full details including the recommendation title, full text, government response, delivery status, progress update and status journey (its delivery status at each update). Where progress updates contain links to published government documents, these are shown as clickable hyperlinks. Select “Hide” or “Close” to close the details

3.3 Key Features

• Archive Selector: Use the “View as of:” dropdown at the top right of the dashboard to switch between updates. The Latest option shows the most recent update; Previous options show earlier updates, in the design they were originally published in, for comparison
• Downloads: Use the Downloads section at the bottom of the dashboard to download the complete dataset for the update you are viewing as a CSV, Excel (XLSX) or JSON file, or download every published update in one ZIP file
• Single Recommendation Download: Download any recommendation as a PDF or CSV file from its detail view
• Data Page: Select “All data and previous updates” at the bottom of the dashboard to see a text-only version of every update, with all download links. It works without JavaScript and is suitable for screen readers and printing
• Hyperlinks: URLs in progress updates are automatically rendered as clickable links opening in a new browser tab
• Light and Dark Mode: Use the button next to the “View as of:” dropdown to switch between light and dark mode
• Visual Indicators: Colour-coding shows different responses and statuses for easy identification
• Accessibility: The dashboard can be used with a keyboard and a screen reader
• Text Cleaning: Automatic formatting removes excessive spacing and line breaks for improved readability

4. Original Dashboard Design (February 2026 and May 2026 Updates)

These updates are shown exactly as they were first published.

4.1 Overview Section

• Summary Section: View total recommendations and status breakdowns at a glance
• Charts: Explore government response distribution and delivery status across recommendations

4.2 Data Exploration

• Recommendations by Government Response: Filter by recommendations that have been accepted, rejected, or acknowledged
• Recommendations by Delivery Status: Filter by completion status to see which recommendations are completed or in progress
• Recommendation Detail View: Select any specific recommendation to see full details including the dashboard wording, full recommendation text, government response, delivery status, and progress updates. Where progress updates contain links to published government documents, these are shown as clickable hyperlinks

4.3 Key Features

• Archive Selector: Use the “View as of:” dropdown at the top of the dashboard to switch between different data snapshots. The Latest option shows the most recent update; Previous shows the prior version for comparison
• Raw Data Download: Use the Download Full Dataset button at the bottom of the dashboard to export the complete dataset for the currently selected archive version as a CSV file
• Data Export: Use the individual download buttons throughout the dashboard to export filtered data as CSV files for further analysis
• Hyperlinks: URLs in progress updates are automatically rendered as clickable links opening in a new browser tab
• Interactive Filtering: Click dropdown menus to focus on specific data by government response or delivery status
• Visual Indicators: Colour-coding shows different responses and statuses for easy identification
• Text Cleaning: Automatic formatting removes excessive spacing and line breaks for improved readability

5. Government Response Categories

• Accepted: The government has accepted the recommendation
• Acknowledged: The government has noted the recommendation and is considering its position
• Rejected: The government has declined to accept the recommendation

6. Delivery Status Categories

• In Progress: Work is currently underway to implement the recommendation
• Completed: The recommendation has been fully implemented
• Rejected: The government has declined to accept the recommendation, so it will not be implemented

7. Additional Notes

• Recommendations are numbered sequentially from 1 to 19 for easy reference
• This dashboard covers Volume 1 recommendations; further volumes may be added as the Inquiry progresses
• Earlier versions of this dashboard are also preserved by the UK Government Web Archive (The National Archives)