Martin Partington: Spotlight on the Justice System

Despite all the headline attention being given to the Covid-19 pandemic and measures being taken to mitigate some of the effects of the disruption to courts and tribunals that it has caused, the Ministry of Justice continues to undertake other work which does not attract the same public attention.

The issue considered here relates to a consultation on the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, which was announced in July 2020.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme (the Scheme) is a statutory scheme that exists to compensate victims of violent crime in Great Britain. Its core purpose is to recognise, through compensation, the harm experienced by victims injured as a result of violent crime, including physical and sexual assault as well as domestic terrorist attacks. The Scheme was last reviewed in 2012.

The cross-Government Victims Strategy of September 2018 included undertakings to do more for victims at every stage of the criminal justice system. As part of this, the Government committed to engaging in a comprehensive review of the Scheme. The terms of reference were published in December 2018. The review has examined whether the Scheme remains fit for purpose, reflects the changing nature of violent crime and effectively supports victims in their recovery.

In July 2020, the Government published a Consultation Paper on proposals for dealing with problems that those with experience of the working of the scheme made to the review. The Consultation is open until 9 October 2020. One of the issues specifically addressed is the lack of awareness of the scheme on the part of victims of crime.

It is likely that detailed amendments to the scheme will eventually emerge from this process. However major overhaul of the scheme seems unlikely.

The details of the consultation are at https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/criminal-injuries-compensation-scheme-review-2020