CICA same roof rule for pre 1979 cases to be abolished

The government today confirmed that the "same roof" CICA rule is to be abolished

We are pleased to announce that the government today brought forward a change in the law which will abolishes the unfair "same roof" rule regarding compensation for victims of crime.

This rule was an integral part of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) scheme whereby victims of violent crime including abuse were denied compensation if the crimes occurred whilst they lived with their attacker prior to 1979. As a consequence of a landmark legal decision in the Court of Appeal last year the government suggested they would abolish this rule and they commissioned a wide ranging review into the CICA scheme. However the decision was made to bring forward the 1979 same roof rule change and that significant change will take place once the new compensation scheme has been published following a statutory instrument being laid in Parliament.

This is wonderful news for many thousands of victims who found themselves without much needed compensation simply because of a line being arbitrarily drawn in the sand. More here on how we see this rule change and what victims should do to seek compensation.