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09 Sept 2025
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09 Sept 2025
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Scotland’s redress scheme for victims of abuse in care has paid out more than £11 million in its first year of operation.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney said 277 people have received payouts under the Scottish Government scheme.
Redress Scotland allows survivors of historic child abuse to apply for compensation of between £10,000 and £100,000, and in some cases their relatives can make the claim.
The scheme is designed as an alternative to court action and those who accept a payout must sign a waiver that they will not make civil claims against the institutions where the abuse took place.
Mr Swinney updated Holyrood’s Education Committee on Thursday on the first year of Redress Scotland’s operation.
As of December 31, 2022, 1,960 applications have been received, 345 of which were passed on to Redress Scotland for independent decision-making.
The 277 payouts were worth a total of £11,368,373, he said.
The scheme is funded through contributions from organisations responsible for the care of children, as well as by public money.
Mr Swinney said: “I’m confident that Scotland’s redress scheme will continue to build on the first successful year of operation, delivering a robust and credible route to redress in a swift and less adversarial way than court action.”
Answering questions from MSPs, he said applicants have come forward quicker than anticipated, but the total number has not been surprising.
He said: “I do think we’ve got a growing sense of momentum within the scheme which I’m very keen to build upon.”
The Deputy First Minister said the level of contributions from external organisations has been “positive”.
He also said that some survivors of abuse feel an apology on behalf of the state is more important than the financial payout.
Mr Swinney said: “At least one survivor has asked the First Minister to write to them and we have arranged for that to be the case.
“That letter has been sent from the First Minister, signed at her own hand.”
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