UK Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has published two reports scrutinising the Department for Business and Trade (DBT), finding insufficient progress on securing fair and timely compensation for people affected by the Post Office Horizon scandal and largely unsuccessful efforts to recover losses from fraud in the Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS). A separate PAC report on support for priority industries also highlights confusion for businesses about where to seek government support and a lack of clarity on how DBT balances objectives such as economic growth, employment and net zero in industrial policy decisions. On Post Office compensation, the PAC cited DBT figures from May 2025 showing only around one in five letters notifying postmasters about a compensation scheme had received a response, with 18,500 people written to by March 2025 not representing all those affected and no plans to follow up with people who may be eligible but have not applied. It also found no full claims had been received under one scheme for those whose convictions were quashed by 2024 legislation, while 25 of 111 eligible people had not yet submitted claims under another convictions-related scheme, including some of the most complex cases. On BBLS fraud recovery, DBT estimated at least GBP 1.9bn lost to fraud, with only GBP 130m recovered in payouts from lenders to date and DBT unable to confirm how much of this relates to fraud; the PAC criticised DBT for placing primary responsibility on lenders despite government underwriting 100% of lenders’ losses, and noted that recoveries by the National Investigation Service (NATIS) were GBP 8.6m. The priority industries report found DBT’s “front door” role was not consistently clear to businesses, and called for greater transparency on the factors used to justify support, citing steel as an example where decarbonisation-related policies can affect competitiveness. The PAC noted that the Insolvency Service has taken over responsibility for viable BBLS recovery cases and indicated it will be looking for improved outcomes from this change.
UK Parliament 2025-06-24
UK Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee faults Department for Business and Trade over Post Office Horizon compensation, GBP 1.9bn Bounce Back Loan fraud and unclear priority industry support
The UK Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) reports insufficient progress by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) in compensating Post Office Horizon scandal victims and recovering Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) fraud losses. Only a fraction of affected postmasters responded to compensation notifications, with GBP 1.9bn estimated lost and only GBP 130m recovered. The PAC also criticizes DBT's unclear support for priority industries, urging transparency in policy decisions affecting economic growth and competitiveness.