§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 22 May,Official Report, column 111, how many outstanding claims for financial compensation for individuals found by the Court of Appeal to have been wrongfully convicted have been outstanding for (a) more than 12 months, (b) more than two years, (c) more than three years, (d) more than four years and (e) more than five years. [7395]
§ Mr. Michael[holding answer 14 July 1997]: There is a total of 149 cases outstanding where, following the reversal of a conviction, a decision to pay compensation has been taken in principle but the claim has yet to be settled. Of these, (a) 11 have been outstanding for more than 12 months; (b) 102 for more than two years; (c) six for more than three years; (d) one for more than four years; and (e) 16 for more than five years. By far the most significant factors in delaying a settlement in these cases 182W have been either delay by applicants or by their representatives in submitting final claims, or reluctance on their part to accept the offers made.
The figure at (b) include 93 claims stemming from the quashing of a high number of drink-driving convictions in Greater Manchester following possible contamination of blood samples.
I regret that in the answer I gave to my hon. Friend on 22 May, a number of these cases were overlooked: at that time the total number outstanding was in fact not 52, as given in my reply, but 106, in 54 of which representations had yet to be received from the claimants. Of the 93 such cases currently outstanding, representations are awaited from 41 and the remaining 52 are being processed.