§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the(a) largest and (b) smallest amount paid in compensation to victims of sexual abuse and how many payments above £100,000 were made in each of the last three years for which information is available. [84339]
§ Mr. BoatengData are readily available only for claims received on or after 1 April 1996 under the tariff-based criminal injuries compensation scheme effective from that date which, unlike the former common law damages based scheme it superseded, is supported by a comprehensive computer system. The data on cases involving sexual abuse are as follows:
£ Largest award Smallest award 1996–97 27,500 1,000 1997–98 27,500 500 1998–99 22,500 750 In those three years the numbers of cases where Payments exceeded £100,000 were 139,115 and 130 respectively. Most such payments were in respect of claims made under the common law damages based scheme effective for claims submitted up to and including 31 March 1996. It is not possible to ascertain readily whether any of these concern sexual abuse cases.