§ Lord Dean of Beswickasked Her Majesty's Government:
How much financial compensation has so far been paid in respect of terrorist activities in Northern Ireland and Great Britain respectively.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Northern Ireland Office (Baroness Denton of Wakefield)Responsibility for compensation in Northern Ireland has been delegated to the Compensation Agency under its chief executive, Mr. Dennis Stanley. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given, a copy of which is attached. There is no comparable scheme for Great Britain.
Letter to Lord Dean of Beswick from the Chief Executive of the Compensation Agency, Mr. D. A. Stanley.
I have been asked, as Chief Executive of the Compensation Agency in Northern Ireland, to reply to your Question about the amount of financial compensation so far paid in respect of terrorist activities in Northern Ireland.
You may be aware that there are two statutory schemes in Northern Ireland which compensate for loss or injury resulting from criminal activities. They operate 63WA at present under the Criminal Damage (Compensation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1977 and the Criminal Injuries (Compensation) (Northern Ireland) Order 1988 and apply to loss or injuries sustained within Northern Ireland. In neither of the schemes is compensation restricted solely to loss or injury resulting from terrorist activities. There is a long history in Northern Ireland of previous legislation of a not dissimilar nature.
Unfortunately, information does not exist on the specific cost of criminal injuries compensation resulting form terrorist activities. However, as part of the process of validating an individual criminal damage claim, the Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary may issue a certificate indicating that in his opinion the damage was "committed maliciously by a person acting on behalf of or in connection with an unlawful association". Using this as a basis, the agency has calculated the value of criminal damage compensation claims as a result of terrorism which were paid in the financial years 1978–79 to 1995–96 to total £507 million. Unfortunately, records prior to 1978–79 are no longer available.