§ Lord Pearson of Rannockasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the terms of reference of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority; and to whom and to what extent is it accountable for its decisions and actions; and [HL526]
What is the burden of proof required by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority; and what criteria does it use when judging evidence or claims; and [HL527]
How the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority decides the amount of compensation it awards; and how much it awards annually; and [HL528]
What avenues are open to third parties to show that allegations brought before the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority are false. [HL529]
§ Lord RookerThe Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority was established to administer the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, approved by both Houses of Parliament, made by my right honourable friend the then Home Secretary (Mr Straw) on 12 December 1995 under powers conferred by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995 and effective for all claims made on or after 1 April 1996.
Under this tariff-based scheme (the 1996 scheme) and its successor scheme (the 2001 scheme), the authority determines what awards should be paid in individual cases in accordance with the tariff of injuries appended to the scheme and the scheme provisions relating to loss of earnings, care costs and other heads of damage.
The authority's decisions are open to appeal to an independent appellate body, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel, the members of which are appointed by the Home Secretary and the Scottish Ministers.
201WAThe authority chief executive is responsible for the preparation of the authority's financial statements. These are audited by the National Audit Office to ensure that they properly represent the receipts and payments of the authority and are properly prepared in accordance with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Act 1995 and whether in all material respects the receipts and payments have been applied to the purposes intended by Parliament and conform to the authorities which govern them.
The burden of proof required by the authority and the panel is that applicable in civil proceedings, namely the balance of probabilities. Each case is considered on its merits.
In the financial year 2000–01 the scheme paid out some £206 million in compensation.
Third parties who consider that allegations brought before the authority or the appeals panel are false should bring them to the attention of those bodies or to the police or to another appropriate authority. However, it is for the authority and appeals panel alone to determine claims in the light of all the information available to them. Under the terms of the scheme approved by Parliament those bodies are exclusively responsible for settling claims and for the interpretation of the scheme rules.