Guidance

Process guidance for the Shortfall Independent Review

Published 21 October 2026

Background

In May 2026, Sir Gary Hickinbottom, the Independent Senior Lawyer for the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS), published his review following a referral made by the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST) and Post Office Limited (the Post Office). The referral was made by BIST and the Post Office following their concerns about the approach to the eligibility criteria for HSS, particularly the challenges faced by groups of claimants in providing evidence to show that they had experienced a Horizon shortfall.

On HSS, claimants can pursue 2 routes of redress, namely a full individual assessment, or a fixed sum offer (FSO) of £75,000, provided they are eligible to make a claim. Find more details on the eligibility criteria for HSS on the Post Office website.

Where eligibility is confirmed, the Post Office conducts a detailed analysis of the data it holds relating to the relevant branch to identify any Horizon-related shortfalls. If any Horizon-related shortfalls are identified within the data, claimants will be eligible for a £75,000 FSO. Where no Horizon-related shortfalls are identified, claimants will progress through the shortfall evidence process.

In his review, Sir Gary Hickinbottom recommended that all decisions made by the Post Office to award claimants a nil offer (that is, where they are not offered an FSO), after completing the shortfall evidence process, should be independently reviewed before they are confirmed. The Shortfall Independent Review (SIR) process seeks to implement Sir Gary Hickinbottom’s recommendation. This guidance sets out the underlying principles that will govern the SIR process.

Parties involved

BIST has appointed Dentons as the SIR process secretariat to support and facilitate the SIR process. The secretariat remains separate from the Post Office and is not part of HSS. Its role is limited to assisting BIST with the SIR process.

The secretariat will appoint a pool of legal experts who will conduct the independent reviews on the SIR process (each an independent assessor).

Eligibility for the Shortfall Independent Review process

Eligibility for the SIR process is determined by the Post Office, as they deliver the HSS, and so neither the independent assessor nor the secretariat will be asked to consider eligibility.

The Post Office will refer all eligible cases to the SIR process, through BIST. There is no requirement for a claimant to take any action.

Before making a referral to the SIR process, the Post Office will ensure that a claimant has completed the shortfall evidence process within the HSS and was made a nil offer due to insufficient evidence of any Horizon shortfall.

The Shortfall Independent Review process

As part of each independent review, the independent assessor will consider a bundle of documents associated with a claimant’s shortfall evidence process. Each bundle will consist of all relevant evidence that the Post Office relied on when reaching its decision to not make an FSO.

The independent assessor will conduct their review based on the bundle of documents only and will not review any new information or evidence that was not considered by the Post Office in the original shortfall evidence process, including oral or written submissions.

At the conclusion of their review, the independent assessor will confirm that they either agree or disagree with the Post Office’s decision. To do so, they shall:

• consider whether evidence of any Horizon-related shortfalls was identified during the shortfall evidence process
• apply the Shortfall Independent Review process principles and burden of proof

If the independent assessor considers an FSO should be made, they will provide their reasons in a clear and concise written decision.

In exceptional cases where the independent assessor cannot make a decision on the evidence provided, they may seek clarification from the Post Office or the claimant, if they consider it necessary for their assessment. Any such request for clarification will be communicated through the secretariat. Once the outcome of the clarification request is communicated to the independent assessor, they will then make a decision.

If the independent assessor decides that the Post Office’s initial decision to make a nil offer was correct, the secretariat will circulate the decision to BIST. The Post Office will then inform the claimant of this decision and there will be no further right of appeal within the SIR process.

Acceptance of a fixed sum offer

If the independent assessor considers an FSO should be made, the secretariat will circulate the decision to BIST, and the Post Office will inform the claimant.

If an FSO is made and accepted, claimants can apply for permission to appeal this award. Read more details of the FSO permission to appeal process.

Shortfall Independent Review process principles and burden of proof

The SIR process aims to provide a full and fair assessment of decisions made by the Post Office within HSS not to award an FSO to claimants, by providing a way for claimants to have those decisions reviewed by an independent party. The independent assessor will apply their independent judgement to cases and will acknowledge limitations with historical documentation due to the passage of time. They will consider all aspects of cases and ensure fairness in each individual case.

The SIR process operates under the civil standard of proof, being the ‘balance of probabilities’. The balance of probabilities means that the independent assessor must be satisfied that it is more likely than not (more than 50%) that the claimant suffered a Horizon-related shortfall. In applying that standard, the independent assessor will take account of the practical difficulties claimants may face in obtaining historic evidence. They will consider the ‘benefit of the doubt’ principle and will not refuse an application simply because of insufficient evidence.

The burden of proof is slightly different for applications on behalf of deceased postmasters or postmasters who lack legal capacity. For those applications, an FSO should be made if there is no positive evidence that there was no Horizon-related shortfall or that the claim is not a genuine claim.

The burden of proof is slightly different for applications by postmasters whose last date of service was on or before 30 June 2005 and for whom there is no network data analysis available (being an extract of Horizon transaction data used to identify the relevant shortfall transactions in a branch). For those applications, where there is no positive evidence that there was no Horizon-related shortfall or that the claim is not a genuine claim, very slight evidence from the claimant that there was a shortfall should suffice in order for an FSO to be made.

Fees

BIST is liable for the independent assessor’s fees and disbursements, in accordance with the agreed assurance and payment process.

Further information

If claimants have a query or need any more information, contact the Post Office at postofficefixedsumapplications@postoffice.co.uk.