Labour accused of dropping child sexual abuse inquiry's recommendation after MPs break up for Easter - 'This change is illogical!'

The relevant IICSA recommendation urged the Government to increase the time limit for child sex abuse compensation applications, so that applicants would instead have seven years to apply from either the date of the offence or their 18th birthday.

The previous Tory government had two consultations on the scheme but had not provided a response by the time of the 2024 election.

In the Labour government response, Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones MP said she had “not come to this decision lightly.”
The Minister for Victims and Violence against Women and Girls said that a “core principle” of the compensation scheme is its universality.

“It ensures all victims can equally access the Scheme, regardless of the nature of the violent crime they were injured by. I consider this fundamental principle of fairness to be crucial to the Scheme’s role.

“Expanding the Scheme’s scope and making changes to its time limits and unspent convictions rule as the Inquiry recommends would undermine this principle given that these changes would only apply to victims of child sexual abuse. That could, in my view, be detrimental to other deserving victims of crime.”

But Kim Harrison, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), said: “The Government has effectively dumped the recommendations on its ‘too hard’ pile, thereby brushing away victims and survivors as an inconvenience.”

Harrison, a specialist child abuse lawyer who represented survivors in the inquiry, added: “IICSA was the most comprehensive inquiry this country has ever seen. The recommendations are based on a wealth of evidence and thousands of testimonials from survivors of childhood rape and abuse gathered over the best part of a decade.

“It should go without saying that every recommendation is important and needed. After all that, survivors deserve more than a simple rejection.”

Recommendation 18 from IICSA also urges that the government changes the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme to “include other forms of child sexual abuse, including online-facilitated sexual abuse.”

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

• Labour accused of grooming gangs 'sham' as Tory MP claims funding for inquiries is being 'watered down': 'This is a national scandal!'
• ‘Get a GRIP!’ Labour blasted over rape gang inquiry ‘betrayal’ as Jess Phillips’ announcement sparks fury
• Labour's opportunistic cowardice on grooming gangs is PROOF they don't want to face the truth - Dr Rakib Ehsan

It also urges the Government to “amend the rule on unspent convictions so that applicants with unspent convictions are not automatically excluded where offences are likely to be linked to the circumstances of their sexual abuse as a child.”

Alan Collins, a leading child abuse solicitor at Hugh James, told GB News: “This change is illogical, unjust and absurd. It’s common sense that compensation rules should be changed.

“This flies in the face of justice. The government knows that victims delay in coming forward because they fear not being believed, we’ve seen that with the grooming gangs, and so what IICSA recommends is very modest.

“In my view there should be no time limit for kids who have been abused who want to come forward.”

A Government spokesperson said: “We are making wide-ranging changes across society to protect children from sexual abuse so that this scale of exploitation is never seen again.

“This includes delivering proposals made by the IICSA recommendations that were not taken forward by the previous government.

"However, to uphold the fairness of our criminal justice system, it is vital that the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme treats all victims of violence equally so we cannot have one rule for certain victims and another rule for others who have experienced other, often deeply damaging, crimes.”

Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick said: "Yet again Labour are watering down their support for rape gang victims. Yesterday they scrapped the 5 locally-led inquiries and today they have quietly dropped their commitment to ensure victims receive proper compensation. The victims of these appalling crimes deserve so much better."

Shadow Home Office Minister Katie Lam MP added: "It’s a terrible shame to see the Government backtracking on the commitments they’ve made to the victims of child sex abuse.

"They may think people won’t notice if they do this today, when there’s no chance to discuss it in Parliament — or that by the time we get back, everyone will have forgotten.

"But we won’t. Whether it’s a national inquiry into rape gangs, or compensation for victims, we aren’t going to let this go."

Jess Phillips, Minister for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, said: “It is paramount we do more to protect vulnerable children from the horrors of child sexual abuse and exploitation.

“Today, we have set out the next steps in our work to address the issues raised in Alexis Jay’s Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.

“This will put victims at the heart of the government’s work to combat child sexual abuse by creating a Child Protection Authority, providing national leadership and learning on child protection and safeguarding.

“And we must address the harsh reality that the majority of child sexual abuse continues to be perpetrated within families. That is why we are making sure the next Joint Targeted Area Inspection is on child sexual abuse in the family environment.

“We will also expand therapeutic support for victims and survivors, doubling Home Office funding for support services for adults who were subjected to this form of vile abuse as children. This will provide access to the help they need to recover and rebuild their lives.

“With today’s updates, and the measures and funding we have already announced, we will protect more children, find more criminals, and deliver support and justice for more victims and survivors. We are adopting a whole of government approach, built on consultation with victims and survivors, experts, local authorities, police, and other stakeholders.

“But this is not the end point; it is just the beginning. We will continue to drive forward reforms to protect more children from abhorrent abuse and support more adult survivors of these traumatic crimes.”