Transparency data

Quashed convictions management information: 4 November 2024

Updated 18 November 2024

Applies to England and Wales

This page contains information on the progress made by the government in identifying convictions imposed in England and Wales which were quashed by the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences Act 2024 on 24 May 2024.

In February 2024, the Post Office and Crown Prosecution Service made the Ministry of Justice aware of a total of 936 records for possible individuals who may have been convicted because of the faulty Horizon accounting system. Of these records, 27 did not include sufficient data for us to trace the individual case.

In addition to this, individuals can identify themselves through contacting the Ministry of Justice Post Office convictions casework team or through the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme website at any time.

As of 1 November, the Ministry of Justice is aware of 40 individuals who have self-identified and were not previously known to us. These cases are under assessment. As there is no time limit for individuals to self-identify, this number may increase over time.

There are currently therefore 949 individual cases that have been or are being considered. As of 1 November, we have assessed 77% of these individual cases.

The table below contains information on assessments made as well as letters sent, as not every individual will receive a letter. This is explained in greater detail in the explanatory notes below the table.

	1 October to 1 November 2024	Total to date (July* to 1 November 2024)
Total number of individuals whose convictions have been assessed (1)	273	732
The number of individuals identified as having at least one conviction quashed by the Act. (2) Number of individuals who have been sent a letter (2a)	132 108	467 441
The number of individuals assessed and written to (or due to be written to), requesting further information to help identify if their convictions are in scope of the Act. (3) Number of individuals who have been sent a letter (3a)	116 104	116 104
The number of individuals confirmed as having no convictions quashed by the Act. (4)	-	149
Total number of convictions identified as quashed by the Act (5)	461	1491

*MoJ identified the first individuals with at least one conviction as in scope of the Act w/c 22 July.

The figures in this release are from a live system and may differ from information released previously. In October 2024, the counting methodologies for figures (2), (3), (4), and (5) were updated to better account for instances of updated and amended records and data assurance processes. Differences may also exist between figures due to difference in time the data was extracted. As this release adds new categories, we have not been able to produce the 1 October- 1 November figure for every category.

What the data means

(1) This number represents all individuals whose convictions have been assessed.

(2) Individuals identified as having at least one conviction quashed by the Act will be eligible for the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme. If the individual is deceased their personal representative may be eligible to submit a claim. Once we have confirmed that someone has a conviction quashed by the Act, we send them a letter to notify them of this as soon as possible. The number of these individuals we have sent letters to can be found at (2a). There are currently 26 individuals with quashed convictions that we cannot write to as we have been unable to confirm their current address.

(3) This number refers to individuals whose convictions appear to be out of scope but may be able to provide further information to help us identify whether their convictions are in scope of the Act. We are writing to these individuals to request this information. The number of these individuals we have sent letters to can be found at (3a). There are currently 12 individuals that we cannot write to in this category as we have been unable to confirm their current address.

(4) This number refers to individuals who have not had any convictions quashed by the Act in England and Wales for one or more of the following reasons:

• The conviction was for an offence committed outside the time period specified by the Act.
• The conviction was for an offence other than those specified in the Act.
• The conviction was imposed after the Act came into force (which was on 24 May 2024).
• The prosecution was not brought by the Post Office or the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales.
• The conviction has already been considered by the Court of Appeal.
• The conviction has already been quashed by the courts.

We do not write letters to individuals in this group unless they have self-identified and asked us to consider their convictions.

(5) Individuals may have more than one conviction that falls within scope of the Act. The total number of convictions is therefore higher than the number of individuals who have been assessed as having at least one conviction in scope of the Act.

Any convictions given in Northern Ireland are within scope of the Act but are not covered by this publication. Any convictions imposed in Scotland are not covered by the Act and are considered under separate legislation.

How we identify convictions in scope

The Act sets out 5 conditions alongside other criteria.

The 5 conditions which must be met for a conviction to have been quashed cover: offence date; offence type; that the individual was working in a Post Office or carrying on a Post Office business at the time of the alleged offence; that the offence was allegedly committed in connection with carrying on or working on Post Office business; and whether Horizon was installed in the branch the individual was working in at the time.

The Ministry of Justice Post Office convictions casework team are conducting complex checks to identify whether individuals identified to us have any convictions that are within scope of the Act. In order to limit the burden on individuals to provide information themselves to show that their convictions are in scope of the Act, we are checking multiple data sources to obtain information on which convictions meet the Act’s criteria. This includes records from the Police National Computer, Post Office Limited, His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, and the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Due to inconsistencies discovered between the different data sources, the process of identifying quashed convictions is taking longer than initially expected.

Once the casework team have verified that each conviction meets the Act’s criteria, they will write to individuals to notify them of this. In some instances, these letters may ask the individual for more information so that their convictions can be fully assessed. In some cases we have assessed a conviction in scope but are unable to contact the individual because we have been unable to confirm their current address. Even where we cannot contact an individual, their criminal records will be amended to reflect the relevant quashed conviction(s).

If you have not yet received a letter and believe you have an eligible conviction, we encourage you to register here or contact the casework team by email at: PostOfficeConvictions@justice.gov.uk.

This information will be shared with the convictions casework team who will confirm whether the individual’s convictions are already being considered and - if they were not previously known to the team - will commence the collation of data and assessment.

Data on Horizon-related financial redress can be found here.