Abuse compensation ‘failing’
ABUSE survivors are turning their back on the Scottish Government’s compensation scheme amid a catalogue of delays, failures and broken promises, lawyers have claimed.
The damning feedback comes one year after Scotland’s Redress Scheme was launched to provide one-off payments between £10k to £100k to people who were abused while in care as children before December 1, 2004.
While victim applications have plummeted and appeals over low offers have spiked, lawyers say they have seen an increase in historic abuse claims.
As of October 19, there have been 1536 applications made for redress and just 189 of those have been passed to the scheme for determination and a conclusion reached in 136.
The most recent data shows application numbers have plummeted from 402 in January 2022 to just 83 in August – while appeals over low offers rocketed from 9 in February 2022 to 37 in August.
As of August 2022, there were also 1,167 applications that still did not even have a case handler allocated.
Lawyers say victims face confusing paperwork, long delays and are made to feel “like a bulletpoint on a to-do list”.
One victim, who was abused by foster parents in East Lothian, gave up on Redress after initially hoping to get recognition after battling with the trauma in secret for decades.
The woman, who gave evidence at the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry under the name Rosie, said: “I was taken in by the assurances but I couldn’t believe the utter mess of the process.
“I was sent away to fill out huge forms and given no guidance and when I did speak to someone I was met with exasperation like I was a bulletpoint on their to-do list.
“I was sexually abused as a teenager by a family that was meant to care for me. It took me years to come to terms with things and all I hoped for at this stage was some sense of recognition but Redress turned it into an ordeal of its own. The whole process is cold.”
The redress scheme covers physical, sexual and emotional abuse and neglect and is open to people who were under 18 before December 2004 and being cared for “in a relevant care setting” such as a children’s home, including those run by religious orders like the Sisters of Nazareth, or in foster care.
Compensation is paid for by organisations responsible for abuse and by the taxpayer, with claims considered by Redress Scotland, set up by the Scottish Government to recognise and acknowledge what happened, and the harm this abuse caused.
Digby Brown Solicitors, who are representing some claimants say that before receiving any money a survivor must sign a legal waiver to never take a scheme contributor to court in future.
The solicitors say that over the last 12 months Deputy First Minister John Swinney has faced complaints of application backlogs, a low rate of payments and a lack of scheme contributors paying into Redress.
Kim Leslie, partner at Digby Brown Solicitors, said: “Despite the pledges, Redress Scotland is clearly still not fit for purpose and it needs a drastic overhaul if it’s to play any positive part in the kind of life-affirming support survivors deserve.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said: “In response to feedback received from survivors, the operating model for Scotland’s Redress Scheme has been improved to ensure that applications can be progressed prior to applicants having a case worker allocated. To support the efficient delivery of the scheme additional case workers have been recruited.
“Feedback from applicants on their experiences of the process is encouraged to ensure that the scheme is robust, credible and operates efficiently with survivors at its heart.”
Redress turned it into an ordeal of its own. The whole process is cold