Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of claims made to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme were processed within (a) 12 to 18, (b) 18 to 24 and (c) more than 24 months in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Laura Farris
The following table shows the number and proportion of claims where a decision was reached within: (i) 0-12 months; (ii) 12 – 18 months; (iii) 18 – 24 months; and (iv) more than 24 months after the date of application. This information is taken from the latest period for which data is available (year 1 April 2022- 31 March 2023) which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/criminal-injuries-compensation-authority/about/statistics.
Claims processed | Number | Proportion |
Total | 34,723 | - |
0 - 12 Months | 23,456 | 67% |
12 – 18 Months | 3,745 | 11% |
18 – 24 Months | 2,345 | 7% |
More than 24 Months | 5,177 | 15% |
Based on the latest period for which data is available, the average number of days to reach a decision on claims was 391. This information is also for year 1 April 2022-31 March 2023 and can be found at the web address above.
CICA recognises that timely compensation can help victims in their recovery both practically and emotionally. CICA aims to assess claims as quickly as possible and the majority are assessed within 12 months. Each case must be considered on its own merits and determined based on the evidence available to support the application.
CICA continually reviews its operating practices with the aim of improving the rate of claims of assessed. Last year, the volume of claims resolved was 12% higher than in the previous year and CICA provided £173m in compensation to victims of violent crime.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average processing time was for claims made to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in the latest period for which data is available.
Answered by Laura Farris
The following table shows the number and proportion of claims where a decision was reached within: (i) 0-12 months; (ii) 12 – 18 months; (iii) 18 – 24 months; and (iv) more than 24 months after the date of application. This information is taken from the latest period for which data is available (year 1 April 2022- 31 March 2023) which can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/criminal-injuries-compensation-authority/about/statistics.
Claims processed | Number | Proportion |
Total | 34,723 | - |
0 - 12 Months | 23,456 | 67% |
12 – 18 Months | 3,745 | 11% |
18 – 24 Months | 2,345 | 7% |
More than 24 Months | 5,177 | 15% |
Based on the latest period for which data is available, the average number of days to reach a decision on claims was 391. This information is also for year 1 April 2022-31 March 2023 and can be found at the web address above.
CICA recognises that timely compensation can help victims in their recovery both practically and emotionally. CICA aims to assess claims as quickly as possible and the majority are assessed within 12 months. Each case must be considered on its own merits and determined based on the evidence available to support the application.
CICA continually reviews its operating practices with the aim of improving the rate of claims of assessed. Last year, the volume of claims resolved was 12% higher than in the previous year and CICA provided £173m in compensation to victims of violent crime.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of average processing times for claims made to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.
Answered by Laura Farris
The government-funded Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (the Scheme) exists to compensate for serious physical or psychological injury attributable to being a direct victim of a crime of violence. It provides an important avenue of redress for such victims and is part of the wider package of general and specialist support available to victims of crime.
The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), an Executive Agency of the Ministry of Justice, administers the Scheme and reports on its performance in an Annual Report laid in Parliament. This report includes data on the time it takes for decisions under the scheme to be made. While the CICA publishes this data on the length of time it takes to conclude cases, each case is necessarily considered on its own merits and complex cases can take longer to be determined.
We engage regularly with the CICA, including to consider its service levels and how it responds to resource demands. We also work closely with the CICA when considering policy development, and when we consult on potential reforms to the Scheme we consider the implications of any policy changes on the CICA and others in an impact assessment. In addition, the Ministry of Justice reviews the CICA as part of the government’s Public Bodies Review Programme, the most recent of which concluded in February 2023 and concluded that the CICA was in good health.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of delays in universal credit tribunal hearings on claimants seeking an appeal; and what the average waiting is for an appeal to be heard.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
According to the most recent statistics (April to June 2019), the average waiting time for an appeal to be heard by the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) jurisdiction is 30 weeks.
The Ministry of Justice recognises that there are delays in the system and that there is a need to increase capacity to help reduce waiting times for appellants. The Department is currently in the process of recruiting more judicial office holders to the SSCS jurisdiction. In 2018, 232 medical members and 118 disability-qualified members were additionally appointed to the SSCS jurisdiction and an extra 129 fee-paid judges have recently been appointed. The SSCS jurisdiction will also benefit from 100 salaried judges and 170 fee-paid judges being recruited across tribunals more widely. In addition, HMCTS are also developing a new digital system which enables speedier processing of appeals and a better service for all parties to the proceedings.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that county court judgments are recorded against the correct individual or company.
Answered by Dominic Raab
The Civil Procedure Rules require claimants to take reasonable steps to ascertain the defendant’s correct details, including their current address. Claimants must sign a statement of truth confirming that the details in their claim are true. Proceedings may be brought against anyone who makes a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.
The Government is considering whether any further action is needed to help ensure that county court judgments are recorded against the correct individual or company.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help individuals or companies correct County Court records which wrongly indicate that they have a judgment against them without incurring costs.
Answered by Dominic Raab
If an individual or company believes that a County Court judgment has been wrongly made against them, they can apply to the court to have the judgment set aside. The Civil Procedure Rules govern court processes and Part 13 sets out the procedure for setting aside or varying a judgment which was entered without a court hearing.
An application to set aside a County Court Judgment attracts a fee. Help with paying fees is available to individuals under the Help with Fees scheme. Those who qualify may have their fees remitted in part or in full, depending on their financial means.
If the application is successful, the defendant can also apply to the court to recover his or her costs including any court fees incurred.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the physical or mental health of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.
Answered by Dominic Raab
Statistics on the use of Freedom of Information exemptions are published by the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly and annual basis. They are available via the following link and include up to the first quarter of 2015:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics
These statistics provide the number of times section 38 as a whole has been used across all monitored bodies. The table below outlines the number of times s.38 has been used broken down by subsection. Figures for 2010 show only the total number of times s.38 has been used as the records themselves have been destroyed in line with the Department’s record retention policy:
Year | s.38 (1) (a) | s.38 (1) (b) | s.38 (1) (a) & (b) | Total |
2010 | * | * | * | 6 |
2011 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 |
2012 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 16 |
2013 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 20 |
2014 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
2015 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
* records are no longer held for 2010.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions his Department applied the exemption in section 38(1)(b) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (disclosure likely to endanger the safety of any individual) in wholly or partly refusing a freedom of information request in each of the last five years.
Answered by Dominic Raab
Statistics on the use of Freedom of Information exemptions are published by the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly and annual basis. They are available via the following link and include up to the first quarter of 2015:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/government-foi-statistics
These statistics provide the number of times section 38 as a whole has been used across all monitored bodies. The table below outlines the number of times s.38 has been used broken down by subsection. Figures for 2010 show only the total number of times s.38 has been used as the records themselves have been destroyed in line with the Department’s record retention policy:
Year | s.38 (1) (a) | s.38 (1) (b) | s.38 (1) (a) & (b) | Total |
2010 | * | * | * | 6 |
2011 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 9 |
2012 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 16 |
2013 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 20 |
2014 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
2015 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
* records are no longer held for 2010.
Asked by: Peter Grant (Scottish National Party - Glenrothes)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what instructions have been given to staff in his Department dealing with freedom of information requests on the application of Freedom of Information Act Awareness Guidance No. 19, issued by the Information Commissioner's Office, in considering whether to apply the exemptions in section 38 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
Answered by Dominic Raab
The Ministry of Justice has published its own guidance on the use of this exemption. This is available here: http://www.justuce.gov.uk/information-access-rights/foi-guidance-for-practitioners/exemptions-guidance