ISVA FAQ's: Compensation

The purpose of compensation is to recognise and acknowledge a wrong which has caused harm to an individual. It is a way of putting a person back to the financial position they would have been in had they not been harmed, as far as is reasonably possible. 

People make compensation claims for many different reasons such as:  

• Financial costs – to cover loss of earnings, medical bills, counselling costs and other expenses. 

• Emotional wellbeing – compensation can act as a form of closure and provide comfort. 

• Acknowledgement – for many people they are unable to take part in the Criminal Justice process as the perpetrator is deceased, or it is deemed there is not enough evidence to take the case to court. Claiming and receiving compensation can provide a feeling of acknowledgement and validation. 

CICA, or Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, is one form of compensation. CICA is a body set up by the Government to compensate victims of violent crimes, including physical and sexual assaults. It provides compensation to those who have experienced physical or psychological injury caused by a criminal offence committed against them after 1st August 1964.  

You must have reported the offence to the police and supported an investigation to make an application to CICA; however, the perpetrator does not need to have been convicted at court for a payment to be made, and survivors whose cases do not progress to court, can still sometimes receive compensation. When the perpetrator of the crime is no longer alive, or there is no organisation to claim against, CICA is the only form of redress. 

Applications to CICA are made via their online application form on the government website. How long it takes to complete the form depends on how much information you would like to include but on average it will take about 30 minutes to complete. It is free to apply. You can save your application and come back to it later, but to do this you must have a GOV.UK One Login. You do not need this login if you complete the application in one go. The link to the application form is below. 

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/criminal-injuries-compensation-authority 

Usually, you will need to apply within two years of the crime happening and you must have reported the offence to the police. Sometimes they will allow later applications if there are exceptional circumstances meaning you were not able to apply earlier and if the evidence provided in your application means a decision can be made without further extensive enquiries by the claims officer. 

If you were under the age of 18 when the offence happened and it was reported to police at the time, you have two years from your 18th birthday to apply, if no one with parental responsibility has applied on your behalf before then. If the offence that happened in childhood was reported to the police when you were an adult, you will have two years from the date you reported it to the police to apply to CICA. 

Most of the questions in the CICA application are yes or no questions or multiple choice. Some of them require you to put in information such as your name, date of birth, dates of the offence, location of the offence, and your contact information. You will also need the crime reference number which the police should have given you when you reported, but if you don’t have this then you can ask the officer in charge of your case for it, or your ISVA if you have one. The form will also ask you for the date you reported to the police. If you don’t know the exact date, again you can either ask the officer in your case, your ISVA, or make your best guess. They won’t decide to not award you a payment on the basis that you don’t remember the exact day you reported so try not to worry too much about this part, it is mainly so they can make sure they match up your application to the correct police report. 

The application will also ask for the perpetrator’s name if you know it and ask if you have any contact with this person. If you do still have contact with them, CICA may decide not to award you a payment if they are concerned that the perpetrator could get access to the payment and benefit from it. 

Aside from all this information, there are two main questions which will make up most of your application.  The first question asks you to give an overview of what happened to you, but this is optional as CICA will contact the police to obtain the crime report from them. This section is for you to explain in your own words what happened, if this feels important to you. It does not have to be long or detailed and can just be a sentence or a few words. If you are applying prior to the conclusion of any police investigation, we would recommend simply stating the offences without providing any further detail, as your CICA application and the details you include in it can be disclosed to the defence team should the case go to court. 

The second main question asks about the impact the offence has had on you. This can be difficult to put into words and so it might be a good idea to have a think beforehand about some of the things you would like to include. 

Yes, you can complete the application form by yourself. You do not need support from a solicitor to complete the form, but if you do use a solicitor, they will likely take a cut of any payment CICA gives you. When you look up CICA online, it is important to use the link on the government website to apply as there may be options to apply via solicitors’ websites but again, if you do this, they will take a cut of any payment you might get. If your claim is particularly complex, you may want to seek support from a solicitor, but this is very unlikely to be necessary. 

While you most likely will not need any legal support to complete the application form, you may want some emotional support from a friend or family member as filling out the form may feel triggering for you. It is fine for you to have someone with you while you fill out the form, but it is important that you make sure you are completing it yourself and they are not influencing what you put in it. If you have an ISVA, they may be able to help you with completing the form if you are unable to complete it yourself for any reason, however you will be encouraged to give it a go yourself first. 

A CICA decision is made by reviewing all available evidence, including police reports and medical records, to assess whether an individual is eligible for compensation based ‘on the balance of probability’. This means the evidence gathered by the police and any records you as the survivor have provided, must show that it is more likely than not that this happened to you. This is in comparison to the criminal justice process where an offence must be proven ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’ to get a conviction in court. Therefore, the level of evidence needed for CICA to award a payment is lower, meaning even if your case does not get a conviction in court, you may still be awarded a payment. 

If CICA decides there is enough evidence to award a payment, they will use a specific tariff of injuries to decide what they deem the appropriate compensation amount to be awarded, based on the evidence available. This can feel difficult for survivors, and can feel like quite a clinical process; however, the tariff of injuries document can be found on their website to view if you would like to see it. 

The CICA claims officer may contact you for further information such as medical records or details of support and treatment you have undergone because of the injuries and impact the offence has had on you. For example, information about counselling services you may have accessed. If you have an ISVA, they may be able to write a supporting letter for you outlining the support you have accessed with them too. 

In some instances, CICA will also consider past and future lost earnings or financial losses suffered and factor this into the compensation payment. 

In most cases you must apply within two years of the crime happening. You may be able to claim for a crime that happened more than two years ago if one of the following apply:  

• You’re claiming because of childhood sexual or physical abuse. 

• You could not claim earlier, for example, because your mental or physical health stopped you. 

• If the crime happened before 1st October 1979 and you lived with the perpetrator, e.g. a family member, at the time of the incident. 

The ‘same roof rule’ was a rule blocking victims and survivors from accessing compensation if they lived with their perpetrator at the time of the incident, for example if the perpetrator was a family member. This rule was abolished in June 2019. Survivors were then allowed to reapply for compensation if their applications were previously denied based on the same roof rule. However, the deadline to make the new application was 13th June 2021, if the crime happened between 1st August 1964 and 30th September 1979. 

If you were denied compensation due to the same roof rule, you may still be able to submit a claim now even though you are outside of the timeframe, if you can show you were unable to apply before 13th June 2021. You must provide enough evidence so your claim can be decided without further extensive enquiries. 

To make a claim to CICA, you will need to show that you have reported to, and cooperated with, the police during the investigation. If the perpetrator has died, you will still need to report to the police, but there will be no investigation. There is no need for the perpetrator to have been convicted, and you do not have to wait for an outcome in the investigation before you apply. As mentioned above, CICA uses the civil burden of proof which is ‘on balance of probability’, so if something is more likely than not to have happened, while the criminal justice process uses ‘beyond all reasonable doubt’, so they must be sure that it happened. 

Once your application has been submitted, CICA will contact the police to get a copy of what you have reported and an overview of the evidence available to help them decide. This means the police will be made aware of your compensation application and this will be added to their report of the investigation. This is because it is what’s classed as disclosable material, so if the case goes to court, the defence team will be made aware of it. Just because the defence team are aware of it though, does not mean they will question you on it during a trial, but it is important to be prepared that this could happen. 

The perpetrator will not be made aware of your application, as any money awarded comes from the government, not the perpetrator directly. However, if the case goes to court, as mentioned above, the defence team will be made aware you have applied to CICA via the police’s disclosable materials, meaning that the perpetrator could become aware of the contents of your application from their defence team. 

To be eligible for CICA you must not have any unspent criminal convictions. It is likely that your compensation could be refused, or reduced, if you have criminal convictions or involvement in tax evasion or benefit fraud. 

An ‘unspent’ conviction means it has not yet finished, and the rehabilitation period is not complete. The rehabilitation period is a specific period of time set when you get your sentence. How long this period lasts depends on your sentence. You can use the tool on the link below on the government website to check if any convictions you have are now ‘spent’. 

https://check-when-to-disclose-caution-conviction.service.gov.uk/steps/check/kind 

If CICA decides you are eligible for a compensation payment, they will then decide how much, according to their guidelines, they will give you. The payment is based on a tariff system taking into consideration the number of abusers, the nature and circumstances of the abuse, the length of time it went on for, and the impact on your physical and mental health. 

The minimum award is £1,000, with the maximum being £500,000. 

You cannot claim for compensation relating to the same offence/s from multiple places. This means that if you are awarded compensation from CICA, and following this, succeed in a civil claim and receive further compensation, you will have to send back the money you got from CICA. If you received any compensation from the criminal court for example, this amount would also be deducted from your CICA payment, or you would have to return that amount if CICA had already given you a payment. 

A civil claim is a legal action initiated by one party (the claimant) against another (the defendant) in a civil court, seeking compensation or a remedy for a perceived wrong or harm. The primary goal of a civil claim is to obtain a remedy or compensation for damages or losses suffered by the claimant due to the actions or inaction of the defendant. Anyone who feels that they have suffered harm, injury or loss because of abuse, negligence or breach of duty can claim. 

There are lots of reasons why someone might decide to pursue a civil claim, all of which are equally valid. Some examples of why people may choose to go down this route include: 

• Recovery – the nature of abuse often results in survivors feeling silenced due to threats from their abusers and the fear of not being believed. A civil claim is a way for survivors to “speak out” and can be an important step in the recovery process. A successful civil claim can feel like a form of justice for survivors. 

• Acknowledgement – many people see the civil process as one in which they get formal recognition of what has happened, and an acknowledgement of the harm caused. 

• Compensation – successful sexual abuse claims result in the award of ‘damages’ or compensation. While this can never change what happened, it can be an important validation that you have been wronged. 

• Compensation claims can also be preventative. Civil claims against organisations can help to improve safeguarding practices. 

• Apology – many survivors want an apology from the abuser, or the abuser’s employers. As well as pursuing compensation, your solicitor will try to gain an apology if this is something you want. 

It is important to select a lawyer that you trust and feel comfortable with so we’ve put together a list of some things you may want to consider: 

•  Do they have experience supporting survivors of abuse through the civil claim process? 
• Are they going to handle your claim sensitively? 

• Do they understand that you have little knowledge of the legal system and ensure they explain everything appropriately? 

• Do they have a history of successful civil claims? 

• Are they open about the costs that may be involved? 

• Are they accredited and members of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), the Association of Child Abuse Lawyers (ACAL), and/or the Law Society Personal Injury Accreditation Panel? 

Although we can’t recommend specific solicitors, we have put together a list of solicitors who have experience of working on ecclesiastical claims: 

• Emmott Snell (Tracey Emmott) https://www.emmottsnell.co.uk  

• Switalskis (David Greenwood) https://www.switalskis.com  

• Slater & Gordon (Richard Scorer) https://www.slatergordon.co.uk  

• Hudgells (Malcolm Hudgell) https://www.hudgellsolicitors.co.uk/ 

• Hugh James (Kathleen Hallisey) www.hughjames.com 

Once a lawyer has been selected, the first contact will usually be over the phone. During this conversation you will provide essential details to enable them to establish if they will be able to help you. If they feel they can, they will usually arrange to meet with you. At this meeting they would hope to take a little more detail from you and discuss appropriate funding for your case.  

Your lawyer will then begin to gather all the evidence needed to progress with your claim, including from the police, therapists, and medical records. This may take many months, so it is important to manage your expectations around timeframes. 

Once your lawyers have obtained all the appropriate evidence, they will draft a ‘letter of claim’ and send it to the organisation being pursued, so for example the church. This entity now becomes known as ‘the defendant’. 

The defendant will have time to investigate the claim, usually 3-4 months. Following this, they will respond stating whether they accept the blame. Unfortunately, many defendants will deny responsibility, delaying the process. If, after reviewing the response, your lawyers feel there is a reasonable prospect of a successful outcome, they will need to get a medical report from a psychiatrist. This will become key evidence in your claim. These will be sent to you for comment. These reports help to assess how much compensation you should receive (alongside other similar claims).  

A meeting may then be arranged with a specialist barrister who will advise you on the strength of your claim, and how much compensation you may receive if your claim is successful. The medical report and details of the level of compensation you are claiming will be sent to the defendant. At this stage, if the defendant is open to negotiations, a settlement can be agreed. 

If the defendant still denies responsibility, or you cannot reach an agreement, your lawyer may have to register your claim in court. However, most cases are settled at this stage and do not end up in court. Even if your lawyers register your claim at court, it is still highly likely that you will receive an out of court settlement.   

In the unlikely event that your claim is not settled before trial, your lawyers will instruct your barrister to represent you at the trial. A single judge (without a jury) would decide on your claim. 

There is a duty established under case law that the Police should conduct investigations into sexual offences effectively. This is under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights. It is well established that part of the duty under Article 3 is of promptness and reasonable expedition, partly because without promptness, the investigation may lose its effectiveness. It may be possible to make a claim against the police where there has been a failure to carry out a prompt and effective investigation. To pursue this is it would be necessary to seek legal advice from a specialist solicitor.