Scotland’s Redress Scheme Statistics December 2021 - June 2024

Outcomes and payments 

This section presents data on outcomes of applications after they have been considered 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 for a determination to be made.

Eligibility for financial redress

Eligibility 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 30 months of the scheme, 97% (1,585) of offers with a determination were eligible for financial redress, with the remaining 3% (56) not eligible. This aligns with the figures that were seen during the first 18 months of the scheme.

Table 2.1 Eligibility for financial redress in the first 30 months of the scheme [Note 1].

Number and percentage of eligible applicants in the first 30 months of the scheme.

[Note 1] Applicants may appear more than once in both eligible and not eligible data as an applicant can apply more than once or request a review of their applications 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 offers. 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.

Over the first 30 months of the scheme, 1,598 application decisions were made by Redress Scotland. Of these, 1,544 were eligible for a financial redress offer. These figures align with the figures seen during the first 18 months of the scheme. Table 2.2 shows that 97% (1,505) of eligible initial application offers were accepted by applicants. 2% (33) of offers were not accepted and a review was requested by applicants. In a further 2 cases, an extension beyond the 6 months was requested. In 3 cases a response to the offer from the applicant was awaited. One case was not accepted by the applicant.

Table 2.2 Initial application offer decisions during the first 30 months of the scheme.

Number and percentage of initial application offer decisions during the first 30 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 30 months of the scheme. A total of 30 application reviews were conducted in the first 30 months of the scheme. Of these 80% had their determination varied and 17% had their determination reversed. All revised offers were accepted by applicants.

Table 2.3 Initial application review decisions during the first 30 months of the scheme.

Number and percentage of upheld, varied and reversed determinations during the first 30 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 outlines the number of apologies requested and received as part of the scheme. Overall, 110 apologies were requested and 69 (63%) were received in the first 30 months of the scheme. This is an increase from the percentage of applicants who had received an apology during the first 18 months of the scheme (as reported in the first set of statistics published on the scheme in October 2023) – which sat at 44%.

Table 2.4 Apologies requested and received in the first 30 months of the scheme.

Number of requested and received apologies in the first 30 months of the scheme.

Awards and payments to date 

In the first 30 months of the scheme, a total of 1,488 awards were made totalling £76,663,543.00 after deductions (Table 2.5) (£82,970,000 before deductions).

These relate to the 1,505 offers accepted for initial applications (Table 2.2). The difference between these two figures represents applicants who will receive payment but where payments had not yet been processed, as of 6 June 2024.

Of the total 1,488 awards over the 30 months, 971 (65%) were IAP awards totalling £71,884,179.00 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 412 (28%) of awards made were FRP awards of £10,000. As of 6th June 2024, £4,120,136.00 of payments had been received by FRP applicants. A total of 105 (7%) awards made were Next of Kin awards totalling to £659,228.00 (after deductions).

The split of awards made by award type across the first 30 months of the scheme is in line with the figures seen in the first 18 months of the scheme.

Table 2.5 Awards made and payments issued in the first 30 months of the scheme.

Number and percentage of IAP, FRP and Next of Kin awards made and total value of awards made in the first 30 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 27% of IAPs at Level 4 (£80,000). The payment levels seen in the first 30 months of the scheme align with the trends seen in the first 18 months of the scheme.

Table 2.6 IAP awards made in the first 30 months of the scheme by payment level.

Number and percentage of IAP awards made in the first 30 months of the scheme by payment level.

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

Fees and costs

A total of 442 legal fee applications were submitted in the first 30 months of the scheme. The total spend on legal fees of applicants in the first 30 months was £730,504.35. In the first 30 months of the scheme, April 2024 saw the highest total legal fees payment, with the lowest legal fees payment made in October 2022 (Chart 3).

Chart 3 Total legal fee payments by month.

Total value of legal fee payments between May 2022 and May 2024 by month.

[Note 1] Chart shows total value of legal fee payments for complete months. Figures for June 2024 have been excluded as these contain partial monthly data up to 6th June 2024 only.

Applicants can also make applications relating to other expenses which they have incurred. A total of 397 expense applications were submitted to the Scottish Government in the first 30 months. The total spend on expense claims for applicants in the first 30 months of the scheme was £18,026.45. In the first 30 months of the scheme, expense payments notably spiked in February and June 2023. This is due to several large but infrequent costs outside the typical expenses (e.g record certification, bank fees, travel) which were pre-approved by Redress Scotland. The lowest total payments were in June 2022 (Chart 4).

Chart 4 Total expense payments by month.

Total expense payments between April 2022 and May 2024 by month.

[Note 1] Chart shows total value of legal fee payments for complete months. Figures for June 2024 have been excluded as these contain partial monthly data up to 6th June 2024 only.