A Computer Weekly report published on 26 March 2026 said the Post Office could not find evidence supporting the Horizon-related shortfall claims of approximately 1,400 people in the Horizon Shortfall Scheme (HSS). That figure is a reported estimate, not a current official count. The latest official HSS figures in the Department for Business and Trade’s redress data are dated 28 November 2025 and describe the wider scheme pipeline, not the same evidence-gap group.
What the reported 1,400 figure means
Computer Weekly reported that a claimant had been told there were approximately 1,400 cases in which the Post Office could not find evidence supporting a claimed Horizon-related shortfall. The report said many cases date from before 2005, when records were poor.
The figure should be read as a secondary-reported estimate for a subset of HSS claims. It is not a separately published official count, and it does not establish how many claimants remain in that situation now. No later official HSS breakdown in the cited material counts claims for which shortfall evidence cannot be found.
What the official HSS figures show
Department for Business and Trade figures published in 2026, with data as of 28 November 2025, show the overall HSS claim pipeline:
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| HSS status | Claimants or claims | What the figure describes |
|---|---|---|
| Claims received | 11,565 | All HSS claims received by the as-of date. |
| Paid | 8,895 | Claimants paid by the as-of date. |
| Offer accepted, payment pending | 179 | Claimants who accepted offers but had not yet been paid. |
| Offer not accepted | 1,000 | Claimants with offers they had not accepted. |
| Awaiting an offer | 1,491 | Claimants still at this stage of the overall process. |
The 1,491 awaiting offers are not a confirmed count of evidence-gap claims. The official data says evidence for shortfalls in some eligible late claims is still being assessed. It also says that, in some cases, the Post Office cannot find evidence of a Horizon-related shortfall; after investigation, a small proportion of those cases may not receive an offer. Claimants can challenge an outcome or choose not to respond.
The same DBT data reports that approximately £1,326 million had been paid across the relevant redress schemes by 28 November 2025. That is a combined redress figure, not an HSS-only total.
HSS awards and the £75,000 fixed-sum option
By 28 November 2025, approximately £465 million in HSS fixed-sum awards had been paid to 6,211 claimants, according to DBT. Of those claimants, 1,112 had previously sought a full assessment before switching to the fixed sum. DBT also reported approximately £117 million in top-up payments to people who had previously settled.
The government announced a £75,000 fixed-sum option for eligible HSS claimants on 13 March 2024. It is an option within the scheme, not an automatic resolution of a dispute over evidence. Eligibility depends on the applicable scheme rules; the announcement does not establish that every claimant qualifies.
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Why HCRS evidence rules do not settle the HSS issue
A separate DBT framework for the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS) describes a Post Office search of historical branch records. Under that framework, if the search finds no cause for a shortfall, the framework assumes it was a Horizon shortfall and says payments the claimant made to cover it will be repaid. That is an HCRS rule; it should not be treated as a general HSS rule.
The HCRS framework also addresses evidence for loss of earnings, not the specific HSS question of whether a claimed shortfall can be substantiated. It identifies HMRC records, tax returns and trade accounts as primary earnings evidence. If HMRC records are lost, it describes limited alternative documents—including bank statements, benefits evidence, contracts, payslips, P60s and trading accounts—and calls for a request to HMRC and confirmation that the records cannot be supplied. These provisions do not establish what evidence is sufficient for an HSS shortfall claim.
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How to read the two sets of numbers
- About 1,400: Computer Weekly’s 26 March 2026 report of the estimated evidence-gap subgroup, attributed to an account from a claimant.
- 1,491 awaiting offers: DBT’s official HSS stage count as of 28 November 2025, covering claimants awaiting offers for any reason—not a confirmed evidence-gap tally.
The figures have different dates and evidentiary bases. The official figures provide no reconciliation with the reported estimate, so neither number should be substituted for the other.
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