The Post Office’s questionable Horizon system replacement plan’s mistakes have left branches facing accidental renovations and potential hardware shortages.
Due to the Post Office Horizon scandal, the Post Office has been subject to public and political pressure to cut ties with Fujitsu and its contentious software, but its New Branch IT ( NBIT ) project has been significantly delayed. The Post Office intends to use hardware purchased for NBIT to replace older hardware, despite the replacement being years ahead.
It is currently having issues relocating the hardware that is used with the latest Horizon system, which will continue to exist for many years.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, subpostmasters may have to rewire their counters to accommodate the new hardware, which is n’t working in their current configuration. As support deadlines for existing branch hardware approach, there might be a shortage of replacement hardware before NBIT is finished.
The project that would take the place of Horizon in 2025 was revealed in May 2022, but Fujitsu’s contract with the Post Office appears to have been extended by another five years, with the supplier receiving an additional £180 million in taxpayer funding.
As revealed by Computer Weekly in May this year, the , project hit big problems, and the Post Office has requested £1bn of further public funding from , HM Treasury to get the programme back on track.  ,
Thousands of units of point of sale ( PoS ) equipment from HP sit in a warehouse. This includes monitors with central processing units built in, keyboards, scanners and printers.
Suitable equipment
The fresh hardware, according to a Post Office spokesman, will allow Horizon-using branches to continue having access to appropriate equipment while a replacement system is being developed.
The Post Office may then consider mounting the hardware on poles on branch counters, which could require significant work in branches, because the hardware is considered normal equipment and there was little or no research done to determine whether it would be appropriate or even fit on the old counters.
The Post Office stated:” We have purchased a variety of equipment to enable us to install new hardware on our branch network. These items come with an integrated counter and one that can be mounted in a variety of ways to make sure they fit inside the counter space. The company is currently conducting branch surveys to make sure that the configuration we install in each branch is customized to their needs, according to the spokesperson.
The Post Office is currently conducting ergonomic assessments and working with the manufacturer to provide “additional configuration options,” the spokesperson said, despite the hardware having previously been acquired.
According to the source, there might be a shortage of replacement hardware due to the Post Office’s plan to reduce the number of units in branches, which are now about 24, 000. The Post Office stated that” we have made an initial procurement to support the reset. The branch survey activity will confirm the whole requirements for the whole branch restore program.”
The spokesperson added that there are no plans to reduce PoS units in” some branches,” but that” we do monitor the usage of counters in branches and work with branches to remove unoccupied equipment in order to manage the cost of the estate.” This is a constant process that we work with our subpostmasters in-house.
Deadlines blamed
The source claimed that social pressure is affecting timelines and that support contracts for existing hardware and software were influencing these deadlines.
The Post Office stated that a deployment plan is still being developed, and that it may use the fresh counters as alternatives to the outdated hardware later this year.
As it waits for funding for the stressed project, the Post Office announced last month that it would be hiring a new technology leader. Chris Brocklesby, the original chief transformation officer, has left as his one-year contract has expired, and Andy Nice, the original transformation director at Camelot, who oversaw the National Lottery up until January 2024, has taken over.
The contract with Fujitsu and Horizon are expected to be used for a number of years. According to Computer Weekly, the Post Office wants to extend its relationship with Fujitsu by five years so that it can reach 2030.
The Post Office scandal was  , initially exposed by Computer Weekly in 2009, revealing the stories of seven subpostmasters, including Alan Bates, and the problems they suffered according to accounting software. One of the biggest justice blunders in British history  ( see Computer Weekly’s list of articles about the scandal since 2009 ).
Read more about the Horizon scandal in detail.
• Even watch: ITV’s documentary – Mr Bates vs The Post Office: The true story•
• Even read: Post Office and Fujitsu dishonesty and incompetence result in a sizable taxpayer’s bill
