KJV, R (on the application of) v The First-Tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber)

Facts

KJV applied to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 in respect of sexual abuse inflicted on her by her father over five years, between the ages of 13 and 18, until she escaped by leaving the family home. In 2011, after her brother learned of the abuse and assaulted their father, KJV was arrested for intervening in her brother's arrest; while intoxicated and under arrest she made disclosures to police officers about her father's abuse, but did not repeat them when interviewed the following day. Her father died in 2015. She applied for compensation on 21 December 2023, and on 20 February 2024 the Authority issued its review decision refusing the claim on the basis that the incident had not been reported to the police as soon as reasonably practicable under paragraph 22 of the Scheme. She made a formal complaint to the police on 14 April 2024. Her appeal was heard by a two-member panel of the First-tier Tribunal at a remote CVP hearing on 14 November 2024 and dismissed on 25 November 2024. An application to set that decision aside was admitted out of time but refused, and KJV applied out of time to the Upper Tribunal for permission to bring judicial review.