A survey conducted by The Survivors Against Terror group has just been released. The organisation set up by Brendan Cox, husband, of the late MP Jo Cox, to support survivors of terror attacks has criticised the CICA (Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority) for its handling of survivor’s claims.
The full report is available here. Brendan Cox is quoted as saying “The CICA is broken"
More than 130 survivors from 11 different terror attacks responded to the survey to describe their own experiences of dealing with the CICA. More than two thirds of survey respondents felt the scheme was unfair and unreasonable.
62% of survivors did not feel they were treated with respect and empathy by the CICA.
Survivors Against Terror are calling for the government to replace the CICA and the compensation scheme entirely with something that is more transparent. The government response so far is to say that the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme has paid out more than £158 million in compensation to victims of crime and their families in the last year, but they also acknowledge more needs to be done.
The process the CICA follow is to ask applicants for information, but then not make any contact with them for months on end while this information sits waiting to be assessed. It leaves people in the dark as to the progress of their claim for long periods of time.
A BBC article on the survey has been published online today
Useful Links:
Survivors Against Terror
Victim Support
Foundation for Peace
You can contact a criminal injuries specialist at Winston Solicitors on 0113 320 5000 or email cicamessages@winstonsolicitors.co.uk.
