§ 68 and 69. Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) upon what basis he plans, in his proposed scheme for compensating the victims of crimes of violence in Scotland, to assess the compensation payable on the one hand, to the dependants of a murdered breadwinner and, on the other hand, to a maimed victim;
(2) if he will, for the latest convenient period, state, in relation to the compensating of victims of crimes of violence in Scotland, the estimated annual and capital cost of National Insurance payments now made, and the estimated annual and capital cost of compensation similar to the Industrial Injuries Scheme.
§ Mr. MaclayAs my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary informed the hon. and learned Member on 10th July, proposals for compensating the victims of crimes of violence are at present being studied, but no statement of Government policy can yet be made.
On the basis then mentioned by my right hon. Friend, and on the information available to me, the best estimates I can make are that the total National Insurance payments for which victims and their families were eligible in 1956 were of the order of £5,000, and that the cost of compensation under a funded scheme would have been of the order of £20,000.