§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of cases settled under the criminal injuries compensation scheme in the calendar years 1987, 1988 and 1989 together with the average length of time taken to settle such cases; if he will provide a separate similar analysis for cases involving police staff and pensioners settled in those years; and if he will give similar figures for the Northern region.
§ Mr. John PattenThe number of applications resolved by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board in the calendar years 1987, 1988 and 1989 were 26,619, 38,016 and 38,484 respectively. Information about the average time taken to resolve applications is not available in the form requested, but the percentage of cases submitted to a single member of the board within certain periods from registration is shown in paragraph 6.1 of the board's 25th annual report (Cm. 900), a copy of which is in the Library. The relevant figures are:
Year ended 31 March 1989 1988 1987 (per cent.) (per cent.) (per cent.) Up to 3 months 1.0 1.5 1.5 3 to 6 months 2.1 2.6 5.1 6 to 9 months 4.8 6.7 16.4 9 to 12 months 19.0 20.0 26.8 Over 12 months 73.1 69.2 50.2 100.0 100.0 100.0 The board does not keep separate statistics for applications from police and pensioners; nor are records maintained for separate regions.