Scotland’s Redress Scheme Statistics December 2021 - June 2023

Outcomes and payments

This section presents the data on outcomes of applications after they have been decided upon by a Redress Scotland panel. The number of applications with an outcome is lower than the number of applications sent to Redress Scotland as applications need to be assigned to panels.

Eligibility for financial redress

This relates to the number of applications where the panel has determined the applicant is eligible for financial redress and an offer was made. This includes initial applications, subsequent applications, and reviews of applications.

Where the panel determines a survivor or next of kin is not eligible for financial redress, they may be eligible for non-financial redress only.

In the first 18 months of the scheme, 96% (694) of offers with a finalised determination were eligible for financial redress, with a remaining 4% (29) not eligible. Remaining applications (151) were still with Redress Scotland awaiting a decision by the end of the first 18 months (see Table 2.1).

Table 2.1 Eligibility for financial redress in the first 18 months of the scheme [Note 1].

Number and percentage of eligible applicants in the first 18 months of the scheme.

[Note 1] Some applicants may appear more than once or in both eligible and not eligible for redress categories. This is because an applicant can apply more than once or request a review of their application which may lead to a different outcome.

Breakdown of initial application offer decisions

This section presents the responses by applicants to determinations made on initial redress applications. In accordance with section 49 of the Act, survivors and next of kin applicants who are offered a payment have 6 months from the date they received the offer to either accept the offer or request a review.

Table 2.2 Initial application offer decisions during the first 18 months of the scheme.

Number and percentage of initial application offer decisions during the first 18 months of the scheme.

Application reviews

Under section 54 of the Act an applicant can request a review of their determination once an offer has been received. A determination is considered to have varied if, after review, a survivor was awarded payment at a different level from the initial award. Similarly, a review panel may find a previously ineligible survivor eligible for financial award following the submission of additional information and reverse the initial application decision.

Table 2.3 shows the outcome of the reviews in the first 18 months of the scheme. A total of 17 application reviews were conducted in the first 18 months of the scheme. Of these 71% had their determination varied and 24% had their determination reversed. All revised offers were accepted by applicants.

Table 2.3 Initial application review decisions in the first 18 months of the scheme.

Number and percentage of upheld, varied, and reversed determinations in the first 18 months of the scheme.

Apologies

In their final determination letter, applicants are offered the opportunity to request an individual written or face to face apology from any/all of the organisations named on their application form. This includes the option to request an individual apology from the Scottish Government. There is no obligation for organisations to provide an apology but it is hoped in the spirit of the scheme, organisations will fully consider any individual request. Applicants seeking an individual apology through Scotland’s Redress Scheme will initially talk through their request with officials in the Scottish Government Redress Division, who then contact the named organisation on the applicant’s behalf and facilitate the process.

Table 2.4 Apologies requested and received in the first 18 months of the scheme.

Number of requested and received apologies in the first 18 months of the scheme.

Awards and payments to date

In the first 18 months of the scheme, a total of 632 awards were made totalling £32,544,410.05 after deductions (Table 2.5) (£35,320,000 before deductions). Of these, 417 (66%) were IAP awards totaling £30,603,576.74 after deductions. Under section 42 of the Act a deduction can be applied where an individual awarded an IAP  has previously received a ‘relevant payment’ in relation to the abuse they suffered. These include awards of damages by a court, payments under other statutory schemes, a payment under the advance payment scheme, an award of compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme and a payment in settlement of a claim in court. A further breakdown of IAP awards by level of award can be found in Table 2.6 below. An additional 163 (26%) of awards made were FRP awards of £10,000, which applicants can receive as a lump sum or in instalments. As of 6th June 2023, £1,627,000 of payments had been received by applicants. A total of 52 (8%) awards made were Next of Kin awards totalling to £313,833.31 (after deductions).

Number and percentage of IAP, FRP and Next of Kin awards made and total value of awards made in the first 18 months of the scheme.

Table 2.6 provides further breakdowns of the number of IAP awards by payment level. A total of 42% of IAPs were at Level 5 (£100,000) with 29% of IAPs at Level 4 (£80,000).

Table 2.6 IAP awards made in the first 18 months of the scheme by payment level [Note 1].

Number and percentage of IAP awards made in the first 18 months of the scheme by payment level.

[Note 1] Due to rounding, the percentage totals may not equal the sum of their parts.