§ Mr. ColvinTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the average time taken to process compensation payments for people who have handed in handguns to the police; [13904]
(2) what action he is taking to reduce the time it is taking to process compensation payments for people who have handed in handguns to the police. [13905]
§ Mr. MichaelClaims submitted under options A and B of the compensation scheme are being processed in 12–14 weeks. The more complicated option C claims will be processed when the bulk of these have been cleared.
118WMore than 37,800 compensation claims and ex gratia applications under the small calibre pistol scheme have been received since 1 July, and the volume is such that some delays are inevitable. More than 14,200 payments have been made to a value of more than £17 million.
It has always been recognised that the pressure of claims received over a short hand-in period was bound to lead to processing delays, and claimants were advised that they may have to wait several weeks before receiving any payment. Despite that, an additional factor in delay is the burden of telephone enquiries about the progress of claims. A recent survey showed that the Home Office was receiving around 2,000 such calls a week.
As I promised in July, everything possible is being done to process claims in the shortest time possible. For instance, weekend overtime is being worked and staff have been temporarily promoted to boost examiner numbers. I wish to record my thanks to everyone who has contributed to the efforts to date including officials and the police officers involved.
§ Mr. MaclennanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about non-payment of claims submitted under the firearms compensation scheme which have been agreed by the receiving constabulary; and if he will make a statement. [14049]
§ Mr. Michael[holding answer 3 November 1997]: A number of inquiries have been received about the progress of individual compensation claims. The firearms compensation section is dealing with claims as quickly as possible, and in the order in which they are received. It has so far made over 14,200 payments to the value of over £17 million. The sheer number of claims received over the three-month hand-in period means that some processing delays are inevitable. That was explained to the House when the scheme was approved, but, as promised, we are doing all that we can to keep these to a minimum.