§ 12. Mr. W. Edwardsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware of recent cases in which omnibus conductresses, whilst standing on the platform of their omnibuses, have been injured by hooligans, and have been refused benefit under the Industrial Injuries Act by the local tribunals; and whether he will now introduce legislation to ensure that compensation is received by innocent people who are criminally injured in the course of their employment.
§ 16. Mr. Prenticeasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will now make a statement on the policy of the Government regarding the compensation of victims of crimes of violence.
§ Mr. R. A. ButlerI have consulted my right hon. Friend the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance, and he informs me that he is not aware of any recent cases of the kind mentioned in the Question by the hon. Member for Stepney (Mr. W. Edwards). On the general question of the compensation of victims of crimes of violence, I have received the report of the official working party, which has shown that the subject is one of considerable complexity. This is still being examined and I hope in due course to make its terms public.
§ Mr. EdwardsI am sorry that the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance is not present, otherwise I would have been able to put the question to him. May I, however, be allowed to inform the Home Secretary that there are recent cases as stated in my Question? There was a case only recently in Greenock. There was a case in 1958, when a bus conductor was hurt whilst carrying out his duties on the bus, but industrial injuries benefit was refused by the divisional court on the ground that 1367 the Act did not permit it. If the Act does not protect these public servants working on buses and in other forms of transport when they are hit on the head with a bottle, as was the case with the bus conductor in Greenock, surely something should be done quickly either to alter the Industrial Injuries Act or to introduce special legislation to help these victims.
§ Mr. ButlerThis is a matter chiefly for my right hon. Friend the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance. Benefits in the scheme are limited to accidents arising out of and in the course of employment. The interpretation of this phrase is, in the last resort, a matter for the courts. I think that the best thing for the hon. Member would be to give me particulars of his cases and I will consider them with my right hon. Friend.
§ Mr. PrenticeConcerning the wider question of compensating victims of crimes of violence, will the Home Secretary bear in mind that a Private Member's Bill introduced by my hon. Friend the Member for Lewisham, South (Mr. C. Johnson) is before the House? This is the second year in succession that there has been such a Bill. Could not the right hon. Gentleman adopt it, assist its passage and amend it as necessary in Committee? If he cannot see his way clear to do that, does he expect that the Government will introduce legislation, bearing in mind that the longer the delay that occurs, the more people will be injured without any scheme of compensation to protect them?
§ Mr. ButlerI am aware of the Bill which is before the House. The matter is a little more complex than that covered by the Bill. It is all a question of the sort of crimes for which there should be compensation and the method of doing it. That is why I should aid discussion if I were to publish at least the terms of the report in the manner most suitable and obtain public reaction to them, because quite a lot of principle and also a lot of money are involved. We should have to find the money and decide the principle. With the aid of the House, we might then be able to do so.
§ Miss BaconConcerning the special problem raised by my hon. Friend the Member for Stepney (Mr. W. Edwards), 1368 would the Home Secretary not agree that this is a matter for the Ministry of Pensions and National Insurance? Will he again consult his right hon. Friend to make sure that these injuries would be regarded as injuries arising out of and in course of the employment of the people affected? On the general question, while I agree with the Home Secretary chat this is a complex matter, would he not agree that it is also an urgent one? While he has not yet made the report public, can the right hon. Gentleman say whether it deals merely with compensation or whether it deals also with the, perhaps, more difficult question of restitution by the criminal?
§ Mr. ButlerThe report deals fundamentally with the question of compensation for crimes of violence. That is some advance. The question of restitution by the individual is one on which I have made several pronouncements and which we might, perhaps, discuss at the same time. With regard to the individual cases raised by the hon. Member for Stepney, there is, of course, a normal procedure which goes through the local insurance officers and appeal from them to the local appeal tribunals and from them to the Industrial Injuries Commissioner. We must be careful to preserve that position. What I suggest is that these cases should be examined by my right hon. Friend, to whom I will pass them.