Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Act 2024 implementation: statutory report
This statutory report to the Scottish Parliament on the implementation of the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Act 2024 outlines the steps taken by the Scottish Government to fulfil its statutory duties under Section 6 of the Act.
5. Access to UK Government Redress
5.1 Facilitating compensation for quashed convictions
The Scottish Government developed a process with the UK Government Department of Business and Trade (DBT), whereby quashed conviction notification letters would be shared with them when the DBT requested this. This supported individuals who qualified for the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS)[9] to access compensation without delay.
The process included the allocation of a Unique Reference Number (URN) – following a convention agreed with the UK Government – to each individual with a conviction quashed under the Act, which served as a secure identifier throughout the redress process. This URN was included in the letters of notification the Scottish Government issued and communicated to the individual as relevant for the purpose of their application to HCRS.
Initially, the approach relied on individuals making an application for redress to DBT, after which DBT would request the necessary confirmation letter from the Scottish Government. This process upheld data minimisation principles, ensuring that criminal offence data was not shared unless it was required for DBT’s use.
Subsequently, the process was updated once DBT made a decision to proactively contact individuals identified as eligible for redress. As part of this change, the Scottish Government provided DBT with the details of all remaining individuals eligible to apply to HCRS.
As such, the Scottish Government has passed information on all those who have had convictions identified as quashed to the DBT.