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The Ministry of Justice consultation Getting it right for victims and witnesses, which ended in April,
contained proposals seriously restricting the ability of workers injured in the course of their duties
as a result of a criminal act to apply for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation
Authority (CICA).
Justice secretary Ken Clarke disregarded the opposition to these reforms by trade unions, lawyers
and justice groups and laid a draft Statutory Instrument on 2 July 2012 to bring a new CICA
scheme into force on 30 September, or within two weeks of it being passed by the House of
Commons.
The new scheme was debated by the House of Lords on 25 July and went before a House of
Commons delegated legislation committee on 10 September but the regulation to implement the
new scheme was not moved after opposition from all sides. The government then claimed that it
“had listened to the views expressed in Parliament” and would consider its next steps.
• By reintroducing the new scheme without amendment, ministers have not listened to the
voices of victims or their representatives.
• The government is determined to push through these devastating cuts even though the
savings to be gained are minimal.
• By the MoJ’s own admission, removing the lower tariff bands from the scheme, halving the
value of the middle bands and stopping train drivers who witness suicides on the track from
claiming at all could “deliver savings to the taxpayer of about £50m a year”.
• We believe it is substantially lower than that.
Below we set out the key reforms which will impact on workplace victims:
THE REFORMS
1. Eligibility impact
• Eligibility will depend on establishing that the victim is a victim of a crime of violence, the
definition of which is changed in order to restrict claims.
• Eligibility will also be restricted by a number of new criteria including residency, reporting of
the crime, conduct and unspent convictions.
Definition of a crime of violence
• The definition of a crime of violence (contained in Annex B of the new draft scheme) is:
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;
The new Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme: denial of
justice for victims of violent crime in the workplace
Thompsons’ briefing November 2012
