Riots Communities and Victims Panel

Lord Cotter Excerpts

Thursday 1st December 2011 Lords Chamber

[Lord Henley]

My Lords, as the noble Lord will be aware, the report came out only on Monday this week, so it is a bit early to make a very detailed response to all the recommendations. I have had a brief chance to look at the report but I have been engaged in other business in this House for most of the week. The report addresses itself not just to the Home Office but to other government departments and, as the noble Lord quite rightly said, to a whole host of other groups all of whom will need to consider what is in it.

Further, we await a report from HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary, the Met and the police in Manchester and Merseyside. The IPCC is also conducting a report, so a great deal will have to be looked at in due course. It would be wrong to announce too early how exactly we will respond to the very many recommendations in this report.

[Lord Cotter]

My Lords, on 11 August, I asked the Government,

“to ensure that measures”—

to assist businesses in riot areas—

“are taken very speedily, with minimum red tape and bureaucracy”.—[Official Report, 11/8/11; col. 1526.]

In my Oral Question on 13 September, I asked the Business Minister to,

“continue to monitor the situation”.—[Official Report, 13/9/11; col. 617.]

On both occasions I received reassuring replies. I am shocked to learn from the report that many people have not yet had any compensation at all. Indeed, seven months after the riots in March the expectation from the report is that nearly nine out of 10 large claims and as many as half of small claims for business will not be met. It is likely that this situation will be answered—

[Noble Lords]

Too long!

[Lord Cotter]

I want to ask the Minister to ensure that we get a clear response now on behalf of business because I feel that it is inexcusable and that there is a sense of betrayal. Will the Minister give us a response quickly?

[Lord Henley]

My Lords, a number of the recommendations relate to the Riot (Damages) Act 1886, the Act that governs compensation for businesses that were affected by the events last summer. I will answer a Question on this subject in two weeks’ time. The immediate recommendations from the interim report were that there should be an extension of the deadline for the submission of claims. I can confirm that we will look at that, just as we will look at the workings of the whole of the Riot (Damages) Act in due course.