As noted in previous blogs posted this week, National Redress Schemes have struggled to deliver redress in a timely and effective manner. With less than six months to go before the closing date for receipt of applications on 2 April 2025 the Historical Institutional Abuse Redress Board in Northern Ireland has been quietly and, it seems, very effectively going about its work.

In its Annual Report for 2023-24, which was published on 18 July this year, it was noted as follows:

  • As of 31 March 2024, the HIA Redress Board had received a total of 4,398 applications relating to 7,709 residential placements covering approximately 152 different institutions in Northern Ireland. Unusually, the HIA Redress Board has experienced a reduction in the number of applications received in 2023-24 where it only received 787 applications, as opposed to the 1055 applications it received in 2022-23.
  • On average, each application names approximately 1.87 institutions. 
  • Effectively, 4,315 (98.2%) of all applications have been considered by a panel, 77 (1.7%) are under progress and 6 (0.1%) remained non-compliant at the date of publication of the report. As of 31 March 2024, only 77 applications have yet to be considered by a panel.
  • The average time to process a compliant application during 2023-24 was 7.5 weeks. This was a 66% improvement on the proceeding time in 2022-23, which was 17 weeks.
  • The average age of applicants continues to reduce and stands at 57.8 for the reporting year 2023-24.
  • As of 31 March 2024, HIA Redress Board panels have made award determinations totalling £86,075,750.
  • The table below sets out a breakdown of all Final Determination of redress made by band (but does not include Section 14 applications pending Final Determination).

Award Band

Number of Final Determinations  By Band

Percentage

£10,000

499

14.7%

£10,001 - £29,999

1,733

51.4%

£30,000 - £49,999

724

21.4%

£50,000 - £69,999

321

9.5 %

£70,000 - £80,000

102

3%

Total

3,379

100

In summary 87.5 % of the awards of redress that have been made, have been valued between £10,000 and £49,999.

In the Foreword to the Annual Report, the President of the HIA Redress Board, Mr Justice Fowler noted that despite the fact that several media campaigns had taken place in 2023-24 to promote all available wider redress support services, including the payment of financial redress to victims and survivors who experienced abuse in residential institutions in Northern Ireland between 1922 and 1995, the HIA Redress Board had yet to see an increase in the number of submitted applications as predicted by some stakeholders.