Given the opportunity last night to debate and oppose the cuts
by a Labour call for the Government to reconsider, Coalition MPs
voted to ensure Labour's motion was defeated by 289 votes to 209.
Despite the motion's heavy defeat, only a handful of Conservative
MPs spoke in favour of the cuts.
Last night's debate was the first and likely final time the
Government's proposed cuts to the Criminal Injuries Compensation
Scheme will be debated by all MPs. The cuts are being implemented
via a Statutory Instrument (SI), which is generally only used for
non-contentious issues. The SI was approved 9 votes to 7 by a
Parliamentary Committee last week, despite the failure of a
previous attempt following objections from Conservative back
benchers. Usdaw and other campaigners against the changes accused
the Government of stacking the Committee with its payroll vote to
ensure the cuts were approved second time around.
The SI still needs to be formally laid before Parliament before
it is enacted. If an objection is raised at this point, MPs will
get another opportunity to vote on the cuts, but there is no
provision for any further debate. The SI could be laid before
Parliament with MPs getting just a few hours notice.
Responding to the vote, John Hannett, General
Secretary of the shopworkers Union Usdaw said:
"Last night, Coalition MPs made the decision to pass by on the
other side and abandon innocent victims of violent crime. As a
result, the Government's appalling record of making the most
vulnerable pay to reduce the deficit is likely to reach a new low
with injured crime victims next in line to suffer.
"Despite the vote, barely a handful of Coalition MPs were
prepared to speak and publically back the cuts, so there remains
some hope that even at this eleventh hour, some will wake up to the
injustice of what is being proposed. If not, then I'm convinced the
decision to target victims of crime in this way will come back to
haunt the Coalition Government and every single MP who supports
it.
"Any Government prepared to cut vital financial support from the
innocent victims of violent crime, while at the same time handing
out tax cuts to millionaires, has surely lost its moral
compass."
Notes for Editors:
- Coalition MPs voted against the following Labour motion:
"That this House reaffirms its commitment to the blameless victims
of violent criminals who suffer physically, emotionally and
financially from the injuries inflicted upon them; recognises that
the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is the fund of last
resort for much needed compensation for these blameless victims and
is relied upon by many thousands of victims each year; and calls on
the Government to reconsider the changes introduced by the
Statutory Instrument narrowly passed by the Delegated Legislation
Committee, on the 1st November 2012.
- Last night's debate and the record of how MPs voted can be seen
at:
www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201213/cmhansrd/cm121107/debtext/121107-0003.htm#12110785000786
- The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme awards compensation
to between 30,000 and 40,000 people each year who are seriously
injured following a crime of violence. The scheme is rigidly
policed and can only make awards to victims who cannot obtain
recompense from any other source, such as their assailant.
- The cuts will mean that victims of violent crime who suffer
injuries such as permanent speech impairment, multiple broken ribs,
post traumatic epileptic fits or burns and scarring that cause
minor facial disfigurement, will no longer be eligible for any
compensation. Victims who suffer injuries such as significant
facial scarring, punctured or collapsed lungs, permanent brain
injury resulting in impaired balance and headaches, fractured
joints including elbows, knees and vertebra, resulting in continual
significant disability, will have any compensation reduced by up to
60%. New conditions for payments for loss of earnings will limit
payments to the level of Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), currently just
£85 a week. In addition, payments will also be limited to those who
are never able to work again, or only in a severely reduced
capacity. Compensation for loss of earnings will also be denied to
any victims with a broken work record during the previous 3
years
- For further information on the cuts to the Criminal Injuries
Compensation Scheme and Usdaw's campaign against them please visit
www.usdaw.org.uk/compensation
- Usdaw (the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers) is
the UK's fourth biggest and fastest growing trade union with over
420,000 members. Membership has increased by more than 17% in the
last five years and by nearly a third in the last decade. Most
Usdaw members work in the retail sector, but the union also has
many members in transport, distribution, food manufacturing,
chemicals and other trades.