§ Miss LestorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many people have applied for compensation for miscarriages of justice, under the provisions of the ex-gratia scheme of compensation referred to by a previous Home Secretary in an answer on 29 November 1985,Official Report, column 691, since the implementation of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 to the present time; how many have received compensation; and what is the aggregate amount of such payments to date;
(2) how many people have applied for compensation under the provisions of section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 since its implementation; how many have so far been compensated; and what is the total amount of compensation so far paid;
(3) how many people have applied for compensation for miscarriages of justice under the ex-gratia scheme as outlined in an answer on 29 November 1985, Official Report, column 691, and under the provisions of section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, since the implementation of the Act to the present time; how many have been compensated under (a) the ex-gratia scheme only, (b) under section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 only and (c) both; and what amounts of money have been paid to those persons in each of those categories.
§ Mr. JackPersons who applied for compensation for a miscarriage of justice do not normally say whether they are seeking to be compensated under statutory or under ex-gratia arrangements. All applications are, therefore, considered first to see whether they fall within the terms of section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 and, if not, whether an ex-gratia payment would be appropriate in the62W light of the criteria outlined in the answer given on 29 November 1985, column 691 by the right hon. Member for Witney (Mr. Hurd).
Since the introduction of section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 in October 1988, 253 people have applied for the payment of compensation. Of those, 54 have received, or are receiving, compensation under section 133 of the 1988 Act; 16 have received, or are receiving, compensation under the ex-gratia arrangements; and the applications of 39 are still under consideration. No person has received compensation under both section 133 of the 1988 Act and the ex-gratia arrangements.
The total amount of compensation paid between October 1988 and March 1993, was £3,428,000, of which £3,137,000 was paid in respect of awards made under section 133 of the 1988 Act. These figures include interim payments in some cases where the payment of compensation has been agreed, but the full amount of the award has yet to be determined.