HC Deb 28 July 1998 vol 317 cc99-100W
Mr. Mullin

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people whose convictions have been quashed over each of the last five years have(a) applied for and (b) received compensation. [52096]

Mr. Michael

Applications for compensation may be made by persons whose convictions have been quashed, but may also be made by persons who have spent time in custody following a criminal charge which is subsequently withdrawn or of which they are acquitted at trial. Information relating to the number of applications made is not available in respect of the full period requested. The information available (which does not distinguish between applications which arose from the reversal of a conviction and those which did not) is as follows:

Applications Decisions in principle to pay compensation
1993 9
1994 155
1995 139
1996 102 25
1997 111 20
1Figures include cases stemming from the quashing of a high number of drink-driving convictions in Greater Manchester, following the discovery that swabs contaminated with alcohol had been used to take blood samples for analysis

Mr. Mullin

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much has been paid during each of the last five years in compensation to persons wrongly convicted; and what was(a) the highest, (b) the lowest and (c) the average sum awarded. [52099]

Mr. Michael

The total amount paid in compensation to persons who have been wrongly convicted or charged for each of the last five financial years is as follows:

£million
1993–94 1.506
1994–95 1.543
1995–96 1.549
1996–97 2.701
1997–98 6.652

In the past, no central record has been maintained of the amount of compensation awarded in individual cases so that information concerning the highest, the lowest and the average sum awarded is not available. Arrangements have now been put in place for the information to be collected in future.

In the past, records have been kept of the number of cases each year where a decision in principle to pay compensation is taken, but the administrative procedures involved in determining the amount of an award and the time taken to complete them are such that there is little, if any, correlation between the number of decisions in principle and the total amount awarded in any given year. The Home Office still awaits the receipt of claims in some cases where a decision in principle to pay compensation was taken as long ago as 1991. Moreover, the total awarded in any given year will include interim payments made in cases where the final amount of the award has yet to be determined. Consequently, it would be misleading to calculate the average sum awarded by dividing the total amount awarded or paid in any year by the number of decisions in principle taken in the same year.

I have placed copies of a general guide to compensation for wrongful conviction and supporting papers in the Library.