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.

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.

* 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.