§ Earl Russellasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will pay ex-gratia compensation to homosexual partners bereaved in the bombing of the Admiral Duncan pub; and whether they will review guidelines for the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in the light of Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights. [HL3984]
§ Lord Bassam of BrightonPayment of compensation on an ex-gratia basis to people ineligible for an award under the terms of the statutory compensation scheme approved by Parliament would not be appropriate.
The Government set in hand a review of the compensation scheme in March 1999 with the issue of the consultation paper Compensation for Victims of Violent Crime: Possible Changes to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. The possibility of extending eligibility for fatal awards to same-sex partners was one of the options for change mentioned in that paper. The Government are still collating the responses to the consultation exercise. Once they have been considered we will decide how to take matters forward. I cannot yet say when that might be.