Abuse survivor payments surpass £20m mark, says Swinney

The total paid to victims of historical child abuse by Scotland’s redress agency has surpassed £20 million.

Redress Scotland was created following the passage of legislation – guided through Parliament by outgoing Deputy First Minister John Swinney – in 2021, offering payments of up to £100,000 for victims of abuse in care.

A letter from Mr Swinney to a Holyrood committee said a total of 404 victims had received payouts, valued at £20.1 million, as of February 28.

But the number of applications, Mr Swinney said, stood at 2,118.

In the letter to the Education, Children and Young People Committee on Thursday, Mr Swinney said the number of applications in February had almost doubled compared to the previous month.

“As of February 28 2023, a total of 2,118 applications for redress have been received,” he wrote.

“You will recall that during the evidence session on January 12, I advised the committee that we expected the throughput of applications being passed to Redress Scotland for determination to increase significantly in the coming months.

“I can confirm that in February 2023, 93 applications were passed to Redress Scotland: in comparison to 47 and 46 in December 2022 and January 2023 respectively.

“Total redress payments made to applicants now exceeds £20 million.”

In a statement released on Thursday, Mr Swinney added: “I know this has been a long and difficult journey for many survivors and we remain committed to ensuring the scheme remains survivor-focused and trauma-informed.”