I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Uxbridge (Mr. Shersby) on obtaining this debate and on the very courteous and careful way in which he has put his case before the House. I shall certainly do my very best to answer his questions, although, as will be apparent, there are some areas in respect of which I shall be unable, for very good reasons, to give at this stage the detailed information that he has requested.

My hon. Friend mentioned his role in victim support. I congratulate him on his appointment and take this opportunity to pay tribute to the organisation. I too was much taken with the words in its latest press release, issued ahead of the report that is to come out tomorrow. The press release says that payment should be prompt. On that point, there is no gap between us.

This is a very important subject. Clearly it is an emotive issue for many people, and I am grateful for the probing questions that my hon. Friend has put. I hope that I shall be able to allay some of his anxieties and use this opportunity to explain a little more fully why and how we intend to change the criminal injuries compensation scheme.

The Government are anxious to maintain the response to those who are victims of crime that was enunciated in the 1964 white paper, which first described the criminal injuries compensation scheme. This said that it was right that the public's sense of responsibility for and sympathy with the innocent victim of a crime of violence should find practical expression in the provision of compensation on behalf of the community. We believe that that philosophy is no less valid today. I am glad that my hon. Friend took us back to that starting point, where we share common cause.

The scheme was of course set up to deal with the volume of crime and levels of claims expected to arise in the mid-1960s. I do not think that anyone could have envisaged how, sadly, both have risen or how much more difficult the administration of the scheme would become as the range and complexity of cases increased. Despite the best efforts of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Board over the years, there has been an inexorable rise in the backlog of cases awaiting resolution.

The backlog exceeded 81,000 at the end of the financial year 1991–92, and most claimants were having to wait more than a year for their case to be settled. The House will agree that that serves to show just how far we have moved away from the intention of the scheme's founders, which was to provide a quick and simple method of recompensing victims.

As my hon. Friend said, compensation is currently assessed on the basis of common law damages—in other words, what a civil court would award in damages in a comparable case. That process necessitates finely balanced judgments or assessments by board members of the claimants' degree of suffering and financial loss. It tends to make speedy and consistent decision-taking all the more difficult.

Last year, we concluded that the scheme in its present form was intrinsically incapable of delivering the type of service that victims now expect, a service that produces awards reasonably quickly, straightforwardly and in an understandable way. In saying that, I must emphasise that I imply no criticism of the board itself, and join my hon. Friend in paying tribute to Lord Carlisle for his work and that of his colleagues. They have made determined efforts to provide a better service, and with some success. It is rather a reflection of the nature of the scheme itself that we felt that we should consider a better way of delivering payments to victims.

We believed that a scheme based on a tariff of awards, which broke the link with common law damages and with the inevitable delays built into the system, was the best way forward. In order for my hon. Friend's voice to continue to be heard, I must point out that we intend to set out our proposals more fully in a White Paper to be published in the summer. I hope that my hon. Friend will understand that that is why at this juncture we are listening carefully to people's views, and this is the first parliamentary occasion on which we have had the opportunity to do so. Clearly they will be taken into account when we publish the White Paper

It is important to reflect for a moment on the rules of eligibility which we intend to follow. They are essentially that claimants must have been the blameless victims of a crime of violence, and must subsequently have co-operated fully with the criminal justice services. We do not intend to exclude the police or any other occupational group from the scope of the scheme. There will continue to be provision for cases to be reopened if the claimant's medical condition deteriorates after an award has been made. I hope that my hon. Friend finds that reassuring.