§ Mr. BlizzardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what evidence is used by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority in judging whether a claimant's own conduct caused or contributed to the incident; [122327]
(2) what percentage of claims to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority are rejected on the grounds that the injured person's own conduct caused or contributed to the incident. [122326]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Authority advises that in the three years ending 31 March 2000, the proportion of cases refused under paragraph 13(d) of the compensation scheme, on grounds of conduct, as a percentage of total cases settled was around 5.4 per cent.
The Authority further advises that in most cases, it determines whether an applicant's conduct caused or contributed to the incident in which the applicant was injured by considering the report on the incident provided to the Authority by the police and any other relevant information the applicant may have supplied. The Authority may also consider police witness statements and interview transcripts where available. Where the incident has resulted in court proceedings, the Authority may also obtain and consider information about these proceedings and their outcome.