Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme

Debate between Crispin Blunt and Baroness Primarolo

Wednesday 7th November 2012 Commons Chamber

[Mr Blunt]

Let us be quite clear: tough decisions have to be taken, as the right hon. Member for Oxford East—[Interruption.]

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Dawn Primarolo)]

Order. Mr Khan, I have already said that there will not be shouting from the Front Bench. Believe it or not, that applies to you as well. Please stop it.

[Mr Blunt]

Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker. Bless him—three times he said I was being emotional and then we have these interventions.

Difficult decisions have to be made, and obviously changing the scheme in this way involves such decisions. However, in the context of our whole wider victims policy, we have made matters, and are making matters, very much better for victims and tougher for offenders, whom we are going to hold properly to account. We are putting in place the mechanisms by which those offenders can pay compensation to victims of crimes in cases where they have not done before. I thoroughly commend the statutory instrument to the House, not least because much of it was my idea.