Tayside lawyer calls for review of ‘cumbersome’ victim compensation scheme

A Tayside lawyer has called for a review of the UK government’s compensation scheme for victims of violent crime, describing it as “arduous” and “cumbersome”, The Courier reports.

Victims in Tayside and Fife received £6.2 million in the two years between 2012 and 2014. Fife residents received the biggest payouts with 214 awards amounting to £1.65 being made in the KY postcode in 2012-13 and 144 worth £1.4m in 2013-14.

In the DD postcode area, meanwhile, 210 award were made amounting to £1.16m in 2012-13 and 108 totalling £1.1m in the following year.

But the PH postcode area had the lowest figure – £428,209 was paid to 79 people in 2012-13, increasing to 52 awards totalling £621,465 in the following 12 months.

The figures came from a freedom of information request made of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) by The Courier.

Gary Mannion, a specialist in personal injury law at Thorntons LLP, criticised the inadequate level of compensation claimants receive and the lengthy turnaround times they must endure.

He said: “The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority is a government- funded scheme to compensate blameless victims of violent crime.

“The claims process however is slow, arduous and the level of compensation awarded will, for the majority of cases, not be reflective of the injuries sustained.”

He added applicants can expect at year-long turnaround from making a claim to receiving a payout: “Once the claimant has managed to navigate their way through the lengthy application form, it will then take a number of weeks for the CICA to acknowledge the application.

“The CICA will then make inquiries with Police Scotland to confirm that the crime was immediately reported to the police (although the person responsible for the crime does not necessarily have to be prosecuted by the procurator fiscal). The victim will then have to consent to the recovery of medical evidence of their injuries (usually a report from their treating doctor) in order for their award of compensation to be assessed.”

A spokesman for the CICA said: “Although we aim to make compensation payments as quickly as possible, we have a duty to the taxpayer to investigate claims properly while ensuring that the applicant gets the level of compensation they deserve.”