The Earl of Denbighasked Her Majesty's Government:
How many claims they have received for compensation for the confiscation of handguns under:
[HL3435]
- (a) Option A;
- (b) Option B;
- (c) Option C; and
How may claims for compensation for the confiscation of handguns are still outstanding under each option; when the Government expect to settle these claims; and whether interest will be paid for late payment of claims. [HL3436]
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Lord Williams of Mostyn)Around 56,600 claims have been received under Options A and B of the statutory compensation scheme for large calibre handguns and theex gratia surrender scheme for small calibre pistols, of which around 60 remain outstanding, pending the completion of enquiries. Around 25,900 claims have been received under Option C of these schemes, of which 18,900 remain outstanding. In 900 of these cases, offers of payment have been made and are awaiting acceptance by the claimant.
Around 9,700 claims have been received under Options A and B of the statutory surrender scheme for small calibre pistols, of which 4,300 remain outstanding, together with around 6,100 claims under Option C of this scheme.
The Firearms Compensation Section is currently concentrating mainly on the outstanding claims under Option C of the large calibre and ex gratia schemes, and the aim is to clear the bulk of these by the end of the year. Work is also proceeding on the Option A and B claims under the small calibre scheme, and these should be completed at around the same time. It is not possible to give a date for completion of the Option C claims under the small calibre scheme at this stage, but work will begin on these as soon as the overall work position permits.
The compensation schemes make no provision for interest if claims are not settled within a particular time. These are complicated and wide-ranging compensation schemes, involving substantial amounts of public money, and the claims are being dealt with as quickly as possible.