HC Deb 16 May 1990 vol 172 cc411-2W
Mr. Darling

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to reduce the backlog of cases pending before the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board.

Mr. John Patten

In February we approved the recruitment of 60 extra staff for the board. Ten of these are already in post and the rest are expected to be in post by the end of June.

The reply to a question from my hon. Friend the Member for Westminster, North (Sir J. Wheeler) on 8 December at columns 409–17, set out the terms of the revised criminal injuries compensation scheme and described other steps taken to improve the board's performance. The revised scheme, which came into effect on 1 February, allows the board to resolve certain cases more quickly by delegating decisions to staff and expediting appeal procedures. The first phase of the major computer project at the board began in March. We shall monitor the effectiveness of these measures in reducing arrears of work at the board.

Mr. Darling

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases awaited determination by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board as at 31 March; and what is the average time between submission of a claim and its determination.

Mr. John Patten

The number of applications awaiting initial determination by a single member of the board at 31 March was 65,100. In a further 2,842 applications interim awards had been made and the final determination deferred. There were also 9,096 cases awaiting appeal hearings and 10,748 where an award had been offered but not yet accepted by the applicant, making a total of 87,786 applications outstanding. Of these, about 50,000 represent the board's working balance, that is, cases which would be under consideration even if there were no arrears.

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.