§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints his Department has received about delays in paying compensation to gun owners who handed in firearms. [19808]
§ Mr. MichaelAround 500 complaints have been received about the timescale for compensation payments, and the need to respond to these complaints, proving a substantial distraction from the main work of the Firearms Compensation Section. The section is endeavouring to process claims as quickly as possible but complaints and other specific inquiries are factors slowing the rate of payments.
I appreciate that the time taken to settle compensation claims is irritating to those who are opposed to the legislation and that all individuals who have handed in their weapons would like to be paid without delay. However, it was made clear at the outset that the number and difficulty of the claims received would make delays inevitable. All efforts are being made to complete the task as quickly as possible, and this would be achieved much sooner if there were fewer inquiries about the progress of individual claims.