HC Deb 19 March 1979 vol 964 cc407-8W
Mr. George Rodgers

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is to be taken on the recommendations of the working party on the criminal injuries compensation scheme which reported in 1978; whether this is affected by the recommendations of the Royal Commission on Civil Liability and Compensation for Personal Injury; and if will make a statement.

Mr. Merlyn Rees

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I have considered the recommendations of the working party on the criminal injuries compensation scheme, and have decided that, subject to some very minor modifications, they should be accepted. In particular, I am glad to tell the House that, in view of the considerable public concern over"battered"women and children, the Government have decided to extend the scheme to victims of violence within the family, subject to the safeguards recommended by the working party and on an experimental basis in the first instance.

The proposed safeguards are that applications should normally be considered by the board in cases of family violence only where the offender has been prosecuted for the relevant assault, that the injuries should be sufficiently serious to justify compensation of at least £500, and that the board should be satisfied that the offender would not benefit from the award.

A revised scheme will be brought into effect as soon as the necessary administrative arrangements have been made. The scheme will remain non-statutory until there has been sufficient experience, both of the revised provisions and of the operation of the extension to victims of family violence, to enable a statutory scheme to be drafted without any risk of a need for early amendment. Legislation to put the criminal injuries compensation scheme on a statutory basis will then be introduced when a suitable opportunity occurs.

The Pearson Commission recommended that the scheme should be made statutory; that compensation under the scheme should continue to be based on tort damages; and that the application to the scheme of the Commission's recommendations on changes in the assessment of tort damages should be considered. The Government accept these recommendations. There is no intention of changing the present practice whereby the scheme's awards are based on tort damages, and any changes in the assessment of these damages which may be made as a result of the Royal Commission's recommendations will automatically be considered for adoption in the operation of the scheme.