§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many claims for compensation are outstanding under each option in the large and small calibre firearms compensation schemes; what is the average amount of time taken to process a claim under each option; when he expects all claims under each category to have been completed; and if he will make a statement. [64953]
§ Mr. BoatengPayments under Options A and B of the compensation schemes for large calibre handguns and small calibre pistols have been completed, apart from a small number of cases still under inquiry, in an average processing time of 21 weeks. The average processing time for claims processed so far under Option C of the schemes is 58 weeks. There are around 16,500 claims awaiting payment offers under Option C, and the aim is to complete these by the end of March if at all possible. In the great majority of these cases, payments have already been made under Options A and B.
I outlined the measures we are taking to speed the processing of these compensation claims in my reply to the hon. Member for Tewkesbury (Mr. Robertson) on 28 October 1998, Official Report, columns 179–80.
§ Mr. LoveTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many firearms have been surrendered under the terms of the Firearms (Amendment) Acts 1997; and what has been the cost to the Exchequer to date. [65237]
§ Mr. BoatengA total of 162,198 large and small-calibre handguns were surrendered, £67.2 million has so far been paid in compensation.