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1417530

registered interest
date	27/01/2022
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Post Office will be permitted to demand confidentiality in the Post Office Horizon Alternative Dispute Resolution.
tabling member printed	Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom
uin	HL5728
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2022 answer text <p>In principle, Post Office will be permitted to demand confidentiality; however, this is a legal matter and will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.</p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 10/02/2022 16:46:55 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
tabling member	56 label Biography information for Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom

1417531

registered interest
date	27/01/2022
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the cases will be pursued (1) in parallel, or (2) sequentially, in the Post Office Horizon Alternative Dispute Resolution.
tabling member printed	Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom
uin	HL5729
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2022 answer text <p>Cases being subject to the Alternative Dispute Resolution process are being handled in parallel.</p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 10/02/2022 16:48:15 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
tabling member	56 label Biography information for Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom

1417532

registered interest
date	27/01/2022
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the size of the compensation cost connected to the Post Office Horizon scandal, and (2) the extent to which the Post Office remains a going concern.
tabling member printed	Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom
uin	HL5730
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2022 answer text <p>BEIS Secretary of State is the 100% shareholder of Post Office and in this capacity he has agreed to help fund the Historical Shortfall Scheme and to fund the compensation for postmasters with overturned Horizon-related convictions.</p><p> </p><p>An initial estimate of £233 million of maximum budget cover from the Government for Historical Shortfall Scheme compensation payments was published by BEIS, as is required, on the TCA subsidy website. This was an estimate of maximum budget cover potentially required from Government and is not an estimate of likely outturn in settlement costs. The £153 million provision included in the 2019/20 Post Office accounts provides the best estimate of likely overall compensation spend under the Historical Shortfall Scheme, some of which will be paid by Post Office and some of which will be paid by Government.</p><p> </p><p>BEIS also published on the TCA subsidy website an estimate of maximum potential Government spend of £780 million to cover both the interim payments of up to £100k to be paid within 28 days of an overturned Horizon-related conviction and the final settlements for these postmasters. This is not, however, an estimate of the likely spend on these settlement costs. Actual compensation costs for postmasters with overturned criminal convictions will be determined by the total number of overturned convictions over time and the individual settlements reached. As was the case on the Historical Shortfall Scheme, I expect that Post Office will publish a more accurate estimate of these compensation costs as a provision in its forthcoming annual report and accounts.</p><p> </p><p>Post Office Limited confirmed in its Annual Report and Accounts in March 2021 that it is a going concern. The next Annual Report and Accounts should be published before the end of March 2022</p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 10/02/2022 16:26:59 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
tabling member	56 label Biography information for Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom

1402058

registered interest
date	11/01/2022
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Horizon IT System: Compensation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what provision they will make for oversight, independent of the Post Office and Government, of the Alternative Dispute Resolutions in the Horizon compensation cases.
tabling member printed	Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom
uin	HL5290
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2022 answer text <p>The Government will monitor the Post Office’s progress on compensation cases as well as the approach being taken when making offers of compensation and track for consistency and fairness. Furthermore, a QC or other suitably qualified legal professional will review the proposed approach for assessing claims for at least an initial cohort of cases, and will be available to advise POL and the Government on issues arising as required.</p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 25/01/2022 16:42:30 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
tabling member	56 label Biography information for Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom

1216501

registered interest
date	22/06/2020
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Post Office: Accounting Officers
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government who has held the post of Accounting Officer with responsibility for the Post Office since 1 January 2000, and what were their dates of service in that role.
tabling member printed	Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom
uin	HL5972
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2020 answer text <p>The Principal Account Officer (PAO) responsible for the Post Office is the Permanent Secretary of the respective department that holds the shareholding of Post Office Ltd (POL). Before its separation in 2012, POL was part of Royal Mail Group. This would be the Permanent Secretaries from the following departments:</p><p> </p><p>Department for Trade &amp; Industry (2000 – 2007)</p><p>Department for Business, Enterprise &amp; Regulatory Reform (2007 – 2009)</p><p>Department for Business, Innovation &amp; Skills (2009 – 2016)</p><p>Department for Business, Energy &amp; Industrial Strategy (2016 – Present)</p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 06/07/2020 14:05:16 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
tabling member	56 label Biography information for Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom

1216502

registered interest
date	22/06/2020
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Post Office: Accounting Officers
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the responsibilities of the Accounting Officer with responsibility for the Post Office.
tabling member printed	Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom
uin	HL5973
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2020 answer text <p>The responsibilities of Principal Accounting Officers (PAOs) are set out in Managing Public Money. For Post Office Ltd. (POL) the PAO is the BEIS Permanent Secretary.</p><p> </p><p>Specifically, the PAO is accountable to Parliament in respect of POL and for ensuring that arrangements are in place for shareholder oversight of POL. The PAO is also responsible for advising the responsible Minister, including in areas such as:</p><p> </p><p>(i) an appropriate framework of objectives and targets for POL in the light of BEIS’s</p><p>wider strategic aims and priorities;</p><p> </p><p>(ii) an appropriate allocation of BEIS’ budget for POL in the light of BEIS’s overall</p><p>expenditure priorities; and</p><p> </p><p>(iii) how well POL is achieving its strategic objectives and if it is delivering Value for</p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 06/07/2020 14:08:46 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
tabling member	56 label Biography information for Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom

1216503

registered interest
date	22/06/2020
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Post Office: Accounting Officers
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether any significant initiatives, policies, programmes or projects of the Post Office were overseen by the Government since 1 January 2000; and if so, what they were and how were they managed.
tabling member printed	Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom
uin	HL5974
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2020 answer text <p>The Government has not overseen any specific project at the Post Office. It is important that the company is allowed to run as an independent, commercial business, albeit in compliance with the principles set out in Managing Public Money.</p><p> </p><p>My Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy has appointed a Non-Executive Director (NED) on the POL Board since its separation from Royal Mail in 2012. From 2014 onwards this role has been performed by UKGI (previously the Shareholder Executive).</p><p> </p><p>Before 2012, there was no representation at Board level (within Royal Mail Group). The Shareholder Executive provided a monitoring function and reported to the relevant department (BEIS, BIS, BERR and DTI).</p><p> </p><p>The BEIS Permanent Secretary has some key controls of the Post Office – namely approval of the annual business plan, some financing aspects of the company and approval of any specific commitments above £50m.</p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 06/07/2020 14:33:41 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
tabling member	56 label Biography information for Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom

1216504

registered interest
date	22/06/2020
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Horizon IT System
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Accounting Officer with responsibility for the Post Office has played any role in advising ministers on the Government’s policy in relation to (1) the faults in Horizon software; (2) the treatment by the Post Office of sub-postmasters in relation to allegations of alleged criminal behaviour by sub-postmasters; (3) the sub-postmasters’ litigation against the Post Office; and (4) the establishment of the review into the Horizon issues.
tabling member printed	Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom
uin	HL5975
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/07/2020 answer text <p>The Principal Accounting Officer (PAO) responsible for Post Office Ltd. (POL) is the BEIS Permanent Secretary.</p><p> </p><p>Issues regarding POL’s IT system and its relationship with postmasters are operational matters in which the PAO and Ministers relied on information provided by POL senior management.</p><p> </p><p>Following the Common Issues Judgment in March 2019, POL advised Ministers that it intended to change its approach to the litigation. This included changes to the POL legal team and strategy, and ultimately led to the successful mediation in December 2019.</p><p> </p><p>The Independent Review into Post Office and the issues highlighted by the litigation was approved within Government at all levels, including by the BEIS Permanent Secretary.</p> answering member printed Lord Callanan question first answered 06/07/2020 14:35:45 answering member 4336 label Biography information for Lord Callanan
tabling member	56 label Biography information for Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom

1108823

registered interest
date	01/04/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Solar Events
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what measures they have put in place to protect against geomagnetic disturbances; and whether they have published, or intend to publish, the details of any such measures.
tabling member printed	Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom
uin	HL14930
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>The Government has assessed the risk of geomagnetic disturbances from Space Weather and identified actions to manage the risks, these are set out in the National Risk Register (2017 edition) on Gov.uk.</p> answering member printed Lord Henley question first answered 04/04/2019 11:38:26 answering member 2616 label Biography information for Lord Henley attachment 1 file name UK_National_Risk_Register_2017.pdf title National Risk Register Of Civil Emergencies 2017
tabling member	56 label Biography information for Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom

1090516

registered interest
date	18/03/2019
answering body	Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept id	201
answering dept short name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
answering dept sort name	Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy
hansard heading	Post Office: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Henley on 19 November 2018 (HL11350), how many such requests for permission have been requested by Post Office Limited under that Article within the last two years.
tabling member printed	Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom
uin	HL14613
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2019 answer text <p>The Government recognises the critical role that post offices play in communities and for small businesses across the UK. This is why the Government committed to safeguard the post office network and protect existing rural services. The overall number of post offices across the UK remains at its most stable in decades with over 11,500 branches thanks to significant Government investment of over £2 billion since 2010.</p><p> </p><p>Within the last two years, Post Office Limited has not submitted any requests under Article 11.1(O) of its Articles of Association to incur a commitment or liability of more than £50 million.</p> answering member printed Lord Henley question first answered 01/04/2019 12:14:08 answering member 2616 label Biography information for Lord Henley
tabling member	56 label Biography information for Lord Arbuthnot of Edrom