§ Sir Ivan LawrenceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the increase in(a) staff and (b) costs of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board in each of the past five years. [4094]
§ Mr. MacleanThe information is summarised in the table:
1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 Average number of staff in post 381 386 414 458 466 Total cost of administration (£ million) 13.1 14.2 17.3 17.8 19.3 Compensation paid (£ million) 143.7 152.2 165.1 175.4 179.0
§ Sir Ivan LawrenceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions, on application to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board, victims have been paid before a criminal act has been established in the courts in each of the past five years; and what proportion these payments represent of the overall payments made by the board. [4095]
§ Mr. MacleanThe data requested are not available. The compensation arrangements for victims of crimes of violence, whether under the common law damages scheme or the tariff-based one which superseded it on 1 April 1996, do not require the act of violence to have been established in a court of law. Many assailants are unidentified or otherwise untraced. Where, however, a trial is pending, it may be necessary for the final assessment of a claim to be delayed until the outcome of the trial is known, since the proceedings may raise issues of eligibility.