Quicker payouts bid for victims of terror attacks

VICTIMS OF terror attacks could receive compensation payouts quicker under plans to overhaul the system.

The Government wants to set up a dedicated scheme for those affected by the incidents in the UK or abroad in a bid to make sure applications are processed as quickly as possible and families get the support they need.

The proposed changes come after criticism of the existing compensation claims process, which is also under review.

Last year during the General Election, a group of terror attack survivors, including those from the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing and the attacks in London, demanded all political parties agree a “charter” to provide quicker access to mental health support and faster compensation.

The Victims’ Commissioner also branded the help, including financial support, families are given when a loved one is killed abroad as “patchy and inadequate”.

A public consultation which runs until October seeks to reform the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, which gives money to victims injured by violent crime when no other financial redress is available, to make it “simpler and more transparent”.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority deals with more than 30,000 applications a year. In 2018/19 it paid out more than £130m to victims.

This included £11m to victims who were previously barred from claiming compensation under the now abolished pre-1979 “same roof” rule, blocking payments to victims whose attacker was a family member they were living with at the time.