A 30-year freeze on compensation for victims of crime should be lifted, campaigners have said, adding that the maximum of £500,000 is insufficient to plan for a lifetime.
The current highest rate, set in April 1996 by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA), is paid to victims of crime in England, Scotland and Wales who have suffered severe life-changing injuries, including brain damage and paralysis.
The money is paid to provide for their care as well as their long-term future, as their injuries often mean they are unable to work.
However, new figures suggest that had the maximum amount risen in line with inflation, it would stand at £1,015,000, more than double the current limit.
Those affected, along with lawyers, have raised concerns the money will run out, leaving them without vital support and affecting their broader quality of life.
Craig Lewis-Williams, 50, from north Wales, was left with brain damage after being attacked while walking home in November 2021. It left him unable to walk or swallow and with memory problems.
He later had a stroke during his treatment, giving him paralysis down his left side, and he is now fed through a tube and has carers visit six times a day.
His attacker, Adam Chamberlin, from Llay, was given a jail sentence of more than a year after pleading guilty to grievous bodily harm (GBH).
Lewis-Williams, who was a warehouse manager before the assault, received the maximum payout from CICA on appeal. However, his wife, Anna, fears it will not go far enough.
She said: “Things are going to need replacing like his wheelchair and the van, they’re big things to pay out for, which are not what the layman needs.
“It’s not going to last. He’s just turned 50 and the expected life age of a male is 75 to 80, it’s another 25 to 30 years.
“You’ve got your car, you’ve got your family, prices are a lot higher than they were 30 years ago, we’ve got the cost of living crisis and what’s going on in Iran, the money has to last longer.”
Nichola, from north-west England, has the same fears about her adopted teenage daughter Lou.
The secondary school pupil has learning difficulties caused by brain damage from her biological mother taking drugs when she was pregnant and giving drugs to her after she was born.
While Nichola says Lou has “defied the odds” and attends a mainstream school, she suffers with mental processing difficulties, mood disorders and behavioural conditions.
“The assessments are that she will struggle with maintaining a job long-term, probably, with the disciplines and the interpersonal relationships that are involved in it,” Nichola said.
“She’s got a significant amount of money and to anybody else that would be seem huge. But it’s got to last her a lifetime and she’s very young, so it might have to last her another 80 years.
“If you’re the kind of person who struggles to hold down a job, you’re not going to have a great deal in your pension when you come to retire,” she said.
Neil Sugarman, a lawyer who has worked on criminal injuries and is the former president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (Apil), said the 30th anniversary should be a “wake-up call”.
“For adults and children who suffer catastrophic brain injury, are confined to a wheelchair or whose lives have been ruined by abuse, the fact that they have to manage with this amount for life through no fault of their own is an insult.”
A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with all victims of violent crime.
“We’re leaving no stone unturned to make sure brave survivors get the support they deserve, with over £164m paid out by the taxpayer-funded criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme in 2024-25.”
