MP slams cuts to compensation for injured victims

Jim Dobbin MP

Local Labour MP Jim Dobbin slammed Government cuts which mean that from 27 November, 90% of people who are attacked and seriously injured will see their compensation payment severely reduced or axed.

For 50 years the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme has supported injured victims with relatively small payments which help them to make up for the costs of care, or loss of pay whilst their injuries prevent them from working.

From 27 November, compensation ceased to be available to half of the victims of assault, including those who sustain injuries such as facial disfigurement, permanent speech impediment or multiple fractured ribs.

Victims of dog attacks will no longer receive any compensation, no matter how serious their injuries.

Even those most seriously assaulted who suffer a permanent disability will see their payments slashed, as compensation for loss of earnings will be limited to the rate of Statutory Sick Pay – just £85 a week. And any victim who has had a period out of work in the previous 3 years (around a third of the UK workforce) will not receive any compensation for loss of earnings.

These same cuts and conditions will apply to the dependants of murder victims, drastically reducing their compensation and financial security following the death of a loved one.

Mr Dobbin said: “I am appalled at these punitive cuts to the compensation that is relied on by thousands of seriously injured victims of crime and their families. I and my fellow Labour MPs votes against these cuts at every stage, but they were pushed through Parliament by both Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

“As a result of their actions, in the Heywood and Middleton constituency alone, in the next two years over 100 seriously injured victims of crime will see their criminal injuries compensation either abolished or cut.

“People who are attacked and injured suffer not only the pain of their injuries, but emotional trauma as well. Many tell me that it affects them for the rest of their lives. To place the seriously injured victims of crime at risk of financial pressure and debt, on top of their other suffering is truly callous.

“I promise that I and the Labour Party will continue to put the interests of victims first. If you have been a victim of crime and are struggling to access the support you need, do let me know and I will do my best to help.”

The shopworkers’ union Usdaw have been campaigning against the cuts in compensation on behalf of many of their members who fall victim to violent robberies and Usdaw General Secretary John Hannett welcomed Jim Dobbin MP’s efforts to protect the Scheme,

“Usdaw are grateful to Jim Dobbin MP for his support. Thousands of shopworkers and other innocent victims of violent criminals desperately need the relatively small amounts that the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme provides. Most who suffer serious injuries need to take considerable time off work to recover.

“The Government’s actions mean that injured victims of crime will suffer financially as well as physically. We believe that seriously injured victims of violent crime have suffered enough and should not have to face possible deprivation and debt.”