The Department for Business and Trade has used a short letter from Carl Creswell, Director of Post Office Policy, to mark the next administrative step in the Horizon Family Members Redress Scheme. The letter, sent to the Lost Chances chair and vice-chair and published on 14 July 2026, sits alongside Blair McDougall’s written ministerial statement to Parliament published the same day. (gov.uk) Both documents point to the same immediate change: registration opens on 16 July 2026. In procedural terms, this is the point at which prospective applicants can enter the system; it is not yet the point at which the department starts deciding claims. (gov.uk)
Creswell tells Lost Chances that the online GOV.UK form will let prospective applicants submit the information needed for initial checks, so files can be prepared before case handling starts later in 2026. The ministerial statement adds that cases will be dealt with in the order they are received once processing begins, which means early registration may affect queue position even though it does not amount to an assessment. (gov.uk) At this stage, the department says the form is for close family members of existing Horizon claimants to register interest and provide initial information. Creswell is explicit that no cases are being reviewed yet, and the ministerial statement says case processing is expected to begin in autumn 2026 after procurement is completed. (gov.uk)
That distinction matters because the July announcement is a mobilisation step rather than the full operational launch. The GOV.UK publication was updated on 16 July 2026 to add the live registration link, while Creswell says a further policy update and fuller applicant guidance will follow before the scheme becomes fully operational. (gov.uk) For families who have waited since Volume 1 of the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry was published on 8 July 2025, the timetable is now clearer but still conditional. The government accepted redress for close family members in its October 2025 response to the inquiry, set out detailed scheme proposals in March 2026, and has now moved to registration ahead of autumn casework. (postofficehorizoninquiry.org.uk)
The March 2026 proposals published by the Department for Business and Trade, after engagement with Lost Chances, show who the scheme is aimed at and how claims are expected to work. Eligible claimants are expected to be partners, spouses, children, parents or siblings who were living with the affected postmaster at the time the postmaster was affected by Horizon. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) Those proposals set out two routes. One is an individually assessed personal injury claim, intended for applicants who can provide contemporaneous evidence or who have an ongoing serious medical condition requiring a new assessment. The other is an events-based route, under which a claimant may receive a flat recognition payment if the postmaster relative experienced bankruptcy, prosecution or wrongful death. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk)
The March papers show that scheme design has been shaped by evidence problems as well as delivery speed. Ministers said many relatives would struggle to produce formal records of harm from years ago, so the events-based route is meant to offer a lighter-touch path where the department can verify the triggering event from existing redress and Post Office data. Applicants who qualify for both routes are expected to be able to see both offers and accept only the higher one. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) For potential applicants, the immediate task is preparation rather than advocacy. Parliament was told that guidance is available so families can assemble the material needed to demonstrate eligibility before claims begin to be examined later in the autumn. (questions-statements.parliament.uk)
There is also a supporting tax framework moving into place around the scheme. HMRC published legislation on 1 July 2026 stating that payments under the Horizon Family Members Redress Scheme will be exempt from Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax, relieved from Inheritance Tax, and will not attract National Insurance contributions under existing law. HMRC says the measure is intended to take effect from 22 July 2026. (gov.uk) For recipients, that means the government’s published intention is that any award is paid in full without separate tax deductions or a further reporting burden through the tax system. (gov.uk)
What remains outstanding is the move from registration to adjudication. The March scheme papers said an independent claims facilitator would be procured, that individually assessed personal injury claims would go to an independent panel, and that funded legal support would be available in line with other Horizon redress schemes. Creswell’s July letter indicates that those operational pieces are still being finalised. (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk) For policy professionals, the letter converts a general commitment into a dated administrative process. For affected families, it is a clear signal to register now, prepare eligibility material, and understand that substantive casework is still expected later in autumn 2026 rather than in July. (gov.uk)