3.14.4 Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority – Claims for Children in Care

1. Introduction

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is a government-funded scheme to compensate victims of violent crime, administered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA). Where a Child in care appears to qualify (see Section 2, Eligibility), an application should be made. The CICA can be contacted for advice on eligibility and making a claim.

The Scheme is intended to compensate blameless victims of violent crimes. The rules of the Scheme and the value of the payments awarded are set by Parliament and are calculated by reference to a tariff of injuries (see GOV.UK).

The CICA consider the circumstances surrounding the incident and the claimant’s character. Further guidance can be found in the CICA compensation scheme guidance: including grounds for withholding or reducing an award (sections 22 – 29 of the guidance).

2. Eligibility

Compensation is available to the victims of crimes of violence, under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. Claims can be made by persons with parental responsibility on behalf of children. Where the local authority has parental responsibility, it has a duty to consider making a claim in appropriate circumstances. Where a child is accommodated by the local authority a claim can be made by the local authority, even where a parent declines to do so.

To qualify for an award, the victim must have suffered 'personal injury' attributable to a crime of violence, or someone must have neglected them or failed to protect them from an act of violence.

It is important to be clear which of the two categories the claim is being made under, as there are differing qualifying periods within which claims can be made.

A “crime of violence” is described in the CICA guidance as “a crime which involves:

1. A physical attack;
2. Any other act or omission of a violent nature which causes physical injury to a person;
3. A threat against a person, causing fear of immediate violence in circumstances which would cause a person of reasonable firmness to be put in such fear;
4. A sexual assault to which a person did not in fact consent; or
5. Arson or fire-raising.

(2) An act or omission under sub-paragraph (1) will not constitute a crime of violence unless it is done either intentionally or recklessly”

Compensation may be awarded for:

• Physical injuries;
• Disabling mental injuries;*
• Sexual or physical abuse;
• The death of a close relative.

*The CICA guidance describes a disabling mental injury as:

“A disabling mental injury is something that significantly affects your day-to-day performance at work or school, your relationships, or your sexual relationships. Mental injuries must be diagnosed by a psychiatrist or clinical psychologist.”

3. Timescales

In most cases relating to children in care the application should be made as soon as possible after the crime has been committed. There will be inevitably some delay due to legal and medical processes but where the applicant was under 18 years of age on the date of the incident, the application should always be made in a timely manner. However, the CICA guidance recognises that a child/young person may be claiming in relation to injury sustained as a result of a period of physical or sexual abuse, and that a young person abused as a child may not have felt able to report the incident for some time after the abuse happened.

All incidents must be reported to the police before a claim can be made to the CICA.

No matter how long ago the abuse took place, it should be reported to the police before a claim can be made:

• If the incident or period of abuse was reported to the police before the young person turned 18, a claim MAY be accepted up to the young person’s 20th birthday;
• If the incident or period of abuse took place before the young person turned 18 but was not reported to the police at the time, a claim maybe accepted within two years of the date when the incident was first reported to the police.

If it has not been reported to the police, then the CICA will reject the claim. 

4. Making an Application

An application for compensation should be made by the victim of the offence. If the victim is under the age of 18, the application must be made by an adult who has Parental Responsibility for them. If the victim is the subject of a Care Order, the CICA will expect any application to be made by the Local Authority named in the order. A copy of the Care Order will be required. In all other situations an application should be made by a person who holds Parental responsibility for the child, even if the child is accommodated by the Local Authority. Victim and Witness information assistance is available for victims living in England and Wales. Prior to any application for a child in care, there should be a discussion with Legal to ensure that the application is supported by the best evidence.

For all applications MOSAIC workflow CO307 – SC Criminal Injuries Application must be completed and the Safeguarding and Review team at SafeguardingAndReview@lincolnshire.gov.uk be notified. Upon notification they will ensure that the claim reference is added to MOSAIC.

It is the Social worker's responsibility to ensure that the application is made and contact with the CICA maintained. Safeguarding and Review will keep a record of all applications and will monitor and progress chase the named Social worker to ensure that all key dates are accurately recorded.

Applications can be made:

Online, at GOV.UK; Supporting Evidence

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), will require the following information in support of an application for compensation:

• The date and location of the crime;
• The name of the police station where the crime was reported;
• The crime reference number;
• GP’s name and address;
• Dentist’s name and address (if the victim had dental treatment because of their injuries);
• Details of any previous applications made by the victim to CICA;
• Details of any unspent criminal convictions.

For children subject to care proceedings, expert medical reports may include evidence relating to the prognosis and effect of injury upon life expectancy or ability to live independently or be employed. This could be very helpful to any claim. It is imperative in these situations that the potential for a CICA claim be raised within the proceedings to ensure that appropriate directions are contained within the final order.

5. Accepting a Payment

Legal advice from the Local Authority’s legal advisor should be sought without delay as to whether the offer should be accepted.

The acceptance form must be completed and returned to the CICA within 56 days of it being sent. If it is not returned within 56 days, and no written request has been made for a review or an extension of time, a payment will not be made. If the Local Authority fails to respond within this time frame the claim will be struck off. This may result in a claim being made against the Authority

The CICA may extend the 56-day time limit for up to a further 56 days, but only if there are exceptional circumstances which mean that you could not have complied with the time limit. Only one such extension may be allowed.

6. Reviewing Decisions

If the Local Authority’s legal advice is that the decision should be reviewed, a written application for a review must be submitted within 56 days of the date of the original decision. A review form will be sent with the decision. Any additional evidence in support of the claim must be submitted.

If it will take longer than 56 days to collect the supporting evidence, a request should be made for the time limit to be extended by up to a further 56 days. Such requests can be made after the expiry of the first 56 days, but such requests will only be granted if there are exceptional circumstances which meant you could not have requested an extension earlier.

The decision will be reviewed by a different claims officer.

The review decision can be more or less favourable than the original decision, or the original decision may be unchanged.

If the review decision is not accepted, an appeal may be made.

7. Appealing Decisions

A copy of the CICA application should be retained on the child's file. Should the Authority decide to appeal against a decision not to grant Criminal Injuries Compensation, the Head of Service can send a written request which must be made within 56 days for the decision asking for the matter to be reviewed by another claims officer, using the review form sent with the decision.

The 56-day time limit may be extended for up to a further 56 days if there are exceptional circumstances which mean that you could not have complied with the time limit.  Any additional supporting evidence should be enclosed.

If the review decision is not accepted, an appeal may be made. The Head of Service will decide whether to appeal on the basis of advice from Legal Services about reasons for appealing which are likely to be acceptable to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

The Appeal must be made within 90 days of the date of the review decision to the First-tier Tribunal (Criminal Injuries Compensation. An appeal form will be sent with the review decision. The form and supporting evidence should be sent to:

First-tier Tribunal (Criminal Injuries Compensation) Wellington House 134-136 Wellington Street Glasgow G2 2XL

The Tribunal is independent of the CICA.

The Tribunal must hold a hearing before making a decision unless it considers that it is able to decide the matter without a hearing and each party has consented to, or has not objected to, the matter being decided without a hearing.

The appeal tribunal may make a decision that is more favourable or less favourable than the review decision, or the review decision can stay the same.

8. The Award

Payment of compensation is usually by a single lump sum, but if a medical situation is unclear, one or more interim payments may be made.

If the payment is accepted, the CICA will normally put the money in an interest-earning deposit account in the child’s name, the payment to be paid to the child (together with all interest earned) when they reach 18. For larger sums legal advice may be required regarding trusteeship of the award.

When the young person reaches the age of 18 years, responsibility for handling the money awarded by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority will be handed over to them unless it is felt they would be incapable of dealing with it. The list of applications will be held by Safeguarding and review who will ensure that the relevant Social worker is aware of all scheduled payments.