Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill on the intelligence services.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Bill will apply to all public authorities, including the intelligence services. At Second Reading of the Bill, the Prime Minister was clear that the duty of candour would need to apply in a particular way to the intelligence services to get the right balance. We are clear that nothing should undermine our national security.
We are continuing to work closely with families, stakeholders and the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee to bring forward amendments that achieve this balance. We will update the House in due course.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority are outstanding for more than (a) 12 months, (b) 18 months and (c) two years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (the 2012 Scheme) does not prescribe a time limit for applications to be decided.
The majority of applications are decided within 12 months. Each case must be considered on its own facts. In most cases, CICA needs to get information from third parties such as the police and medical authorities.
Some applications will by necessity take longer to decide. This could be where information is not available due to ongoing court proceedings, where CICA needs time to assess the long-term impact of complex injuries (e.g. brain injuries), or where there is an application for loss of earnings (which requires at least 28 weeks of loss).
In the financial year 2024-25, the average time to make a decision was 370 days*.
The following table** shows the number of applications awaiting a first decision for more than 12, 18 and 24 months as at 31 March 2025.
Months | Applications awaiting a first decision |
12-18 | 6,711 |
18-24 | 4,877 |
24+ | 9,604 |
* This figure is based on cases that were decided in 2024-25. The applications may have been received in earlier years.
**The table does not include applications deferred under paragraph 98 of the 2012 Scheme.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time is for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority to (a) process and (b) determine claims for compensation.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (the 2012 Scheme) does not prescribe a time limit for applications to be decided.
The majority of applications are decided within 12 months. Each case must be considered on its own facts. In most cases, CICA needs to get information from third parties such as the police and medical authorities.
Some applications will by necessity take longer to decide. This could be where information is not available due to ongoing court proceedings, where CICA needs time to assess the long-term impact of complex injuries (e.g. brain injuries), or where there is an application for loss of earnings (which requires at least 28 weeks of loss).
In the financial year 2024-25, the average time to make a decision was 370 days*.
The following table** shows the number of applications awaiting a first decision for more than 12, 18 and 24 months as at 31 March 2025.
Months | Applications awaiting a first decision |
12-18 | 6,711 |
18-24 | 4,877 |
24+ | 9,604 |
* This figure is based on cases that were decided in 2024-25. The applications may have been received in earlier years.
**The table does not include applications deferred under paragraph 98 of the 2012 Scheme.
Asked by: Harriet Cross (Conservative - Gordon and Buchan)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were not notified before prisoners who perpetrated crimes against them were released early under the SDS40 scheme.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe.
The HMPPS Victim Contact Scheme is a service for the victims of offenders who are convicted of specified violent, sexual or terrorism offences and are sentenced to twelve months or more imprisonment. The Victim Notification Scheme provides a similar service for victims of certain stalking and harassment offences. Both Schemes allow for the Probation Service to notify eligible victims of information about an offender’s sentence.
When SDS40 was introduced, for those eligible victims who opted into the Schemes, the Probation Service provided information on the SDS40 changes, including the offender’s new release date and how to access support services. Eligible victims continue to receive key information about the offender in their case, including when the offender is recalled to custody.