§ Ms MowlamTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the reasons for the trend in the level of outstanding claims for damage to property in Northern Ireland between 1990 and 1994; and what provision he intends to make to deal with these outstanding claims as quickly as possible. [19873]
§ Sir John WheelerResponsibility for the subject in question has been delegated to the Compensation Agency under its chief executive, Mr. Denis Stanley. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from D. A. Stanley to Ms Marjorie Mowlam, dated 21 April 1995:
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has asked me to reply, on behalf of the Compensation Agency, to your recent Question regarding claims for criminal damage to property.The following table shows the number of criminal damage claims outstanding at each year ending 31 March from 1991 to 1995 along with the projected figure for the end of the current year:
Year Number of claims outstanding at year end 1990–91 4,213 1991–92 6,238 1992–93 6,432 1993–94 6,612 1994–95 2,795 1995–96 1950 1 Estimated. The number of claims outstanding at the end of any year is directly related to the numbers of new claims received in that year. The rising trend over the three years up to 1993–94 reflected the terrorist bombing campaign over this period when, in particular, town centres were targeted resulting in a large number of claims involving commercial property, much of which took considerable time to rebuild. A significant downturn in new claims occurred in 1994–95 particular following the paramilitary ceasefires of last Autumn. As a consequence, a substantial reduction was made in the number of outstanding claims. On the assumption that this downturn in new claims will continue, it is estimated that by the end of 1995–96 the number of outstanding claims will have been reduced to about 950.The Agency remains committed to processing claims as quickly as possible. Resources and procedures are targeted at ensuring that the Agency provides the best possible service to the innocent victims of violent crime.