Redress For Survivors (Historical Child Abuse In Care) (Scotland) Act 2021 - waiver, contributions and other routes to redress: statutory guidance – updated August 2024

Other routes to redress and justice

22. There is no requirement to apply for redress and the existence of the redress scheme does not interfere with any rights survivors may have to pursue other remedies including raising civil proceedings, unless, after choosing to make an application for redress, an offer of redress is accepted.

23. A survivor may decide that upon reading more about the scheme or taking further advice about it from their solicitor that they do not want to apply for redress, and that they would rather pursue civil proceedings.

24. Redress payments may be lower for some applicants under the scheme than they would have been awarded by a court or have received as a result of civil proceedings. For others, the opposite may be true. However, the redress scheme is designed as an alternative remedy for survivors and is not designed to achieve the same outcomes, or use the same approach, as a civil court process. The financial redress offered under the redress scheme is not, therefore, linked to the amount of compensation that a person may receive in civil proceedings by way of damages.

25. The scheme is designed to reduce or remove the risks and barriers to accessing justice that can be associated with civil proceedings. Once eligibility for a redress payment has been established, the payment is guaranteed to be made in accordance with the terms of the Act.

26. The scheme has been designed to be more accessible, swifter, non-adversarial, and has different evidential requirements than civil proceedings. It is transparent in the payment levels offered and payments are not dependent on a defender having assets or an insurer being identified.

27. There are however, a number of important reasons why a survivor may choose not to sign a waiver and give up their right to continue or pursue civil proceedings including: the potential value or complexity of their action; the accountability and acknowledgement associated with a formal adjudication and finding of legal liability; or the stage of the process that they have reached in ongoing civil proceedings.

28. The information below sets out various other routes open to survivors. Other than raising civil proceedings against an organisation on the scheme contributor list, all other routes remain open to applicants after accepting a redress payment (as well as before or whilst an application is ongoing). Applicants should seek independent legal advice regarding the options available to them.