Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many victims of childhood sexual abuse have (a) been refused compensation by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme and (b) had a compensation award reduced as a result of their criminal record.

The statutory Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 (the Scheme) requires that awards are withheld where the applicant has an unspent conviction of a specified type, including custodial sentences and community orders. Where the applicant has a different type of unspent conviction, the Scheme requires that any award is withheld or reduced unless there are exceptional reasons not to do so.

In the 3-year period between 12 March 2019 and 11 March 2022:

• 383 applications from victims of childhood sexual abuse were refused due to unspent convictions; and
• 111 awards made to victims of childhood sexual abuse were reduced due to unspent convictions.

The above figures relate to finalised claims which were submitted on or after 1 February 2015. The data is not available in connection with claims submitted prior to that date. While the incident happened during childhood, many applications are submitted in adulthood. Applications may have more than one refusal reason.