Pay-Outs To Victims Of Violence Fall By £4m

A growing number of assault victims in Scotland are failing to claim compensation from the government, with pay-outs dropping by £4 million in recent years.

In 2006-7, £17.95 million was paid by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), compared to £22 million in 2003-4, The Scotsman has learned. Victims of violent crime can receive up to £500,000.

The number of cases processed has also fallen. Last year, more than 6,600 applications were received by CICA in Scotland, compared to nearly 9,100 in 2003-4.

Part of the fall can be explained by a drop in violent crime over the period. But the decrease in applications has raised concerns that bureaucracy encountered by claimants may be deterring some victims from coming forward.

Many cases are taking longer to process. The number of applications resolved within a year has fallen from nearly 75 per cent to around 63 per cent.

Paul Martin MSP, Labour’s community safety spokesman, said: “Some serious work has to be done to make the process more efficient and make the public more aware of the rules.”

Bill Aitken MSP, the Scottish Conservatives’ justice spokesman, said the fall in applications was “good news”, and suggested CICA was checking claims more assiduously.

However, he added that he “wouldn’t want genuine claims to be put off by the process”.

A spokesman for CICA said the authority did not know why applications were falling.

However, CICA has acknowledged it needs to improve the way it decides cases and is conducting a review to improve efficiency and customer service. This will include revising the application form to meet plain English standards.

The amount of compensation paid to victims of crime has also fallen as a result of fewer historic multi-million- pound awards.

These cases usually involve people who suffered brain damage during a violent attack as a child. They often take many years to conclude, as the full extent of the injuries suffered can sometimes only be established when the victim reaches adulthood.

In cases commenced before 1995, there was no limit placed on the maximum award. However, a “tariff” system was introduced to save money, setting out how much a victim was entitled to claim depending on the nature of their injuries.

Recently resolved cases raised under the old system include a £2 million award to the family of a teenage boy in Dunfermline to pay for his care after he suffered brain damage due to an assault by his mother’s boyfriend as a baby.