Shirley Oaks survivor attempts suicide over compensation delay as Lambeth applies for more money
The compensation scheme for Shirley Oaks survivors – children who were sexually abused in the care of Lambeth council in the 1980s – has run out of money.
The South London Press can reveal that hundreds of redress scheme claims are still open, and that Lambeth council has made an application to extend the amount it can borrow to pay them.
There are 445 claims still open, out of a total of 2,238 applications received for redress, with £117.5m spent as of March this year, including £6.5m for Lambeth’s legal fees and £9.3m on administrative costs.
Lambeth confirmed the costs could increase to £177m.
The delay in compensation and amounts offered to victims are “insulting,” according to the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association (SOSA).
A survivor from the historic sex abuse case has said the delay of compensation and the amount offered by Lambeth in its redress scheme made him want to take his life.
The survivor, who did not want to be named, in the early 1980s was at the South Vale Assessment Centre – one of the children’s care homes that formed part of an inquiry which found hundreds of children had been abused.
The victim said he suffers from PTSD and has nightmares about his abuser regularly, nearly 40 years later. The abuser cannot be named in case it identifies the victim.
He said: “When I went into care I was a good little boy. The person who abused me changed my life in a massive way. I was 11 years old when I went into South Vale and when I came out I turned to a life of crime and drugs.
“When I arrived at South Vale I would wake up and find he [victim’s abuser] was sexually abusing me.
“We’d go on days out and he wanted to take my younger brother into a cubicle to get changed but I took his place. He wanted to be pleasured by us. I went to his house and he gave me drinks and a joint. I woke up and I had clearly been entered. I was sore and bleeding.”
The victim said he has attempted suicide twice before, once in South Vale and another time when he had left the home.
He said: “The depression takes over me. There’s no getting away from it. You can smell and taste things in your nightmares that take you right back there.”
The victim said Lambeth’s redress scheme had been “one nightmare after another” and the last three-and-a-half years of dealing with it had made him suicidal.
“I can’t put a number on what I’ve been through,” he said. “I’m not trying to grab up money. I just want enough for a roof over my head and to enter counselling and be a better father to my children. I owe them an explanation. I owe them a father.
“This redress has shown that I’m nothing. They [Lambeth council] are offering the smallest amount to get people off their back.”
Lucia Hinton from SOSA, said: “Around six months ago we suspected that something was wrong because [victims claimed] they settled at reduced amounts that [they felt] were not consistent with the abuse they suffered.
“Lambeth have not only spent the initial £100m they borrowed, they have spent another £17.5m, and we suspect a lot more. But more shockingly, as we predicted, they have applied to extend the terms [of funding the scheme].”
Lambeth have been given permission to apply to the Public Works Loan Board, which is directed by the UK Debt Management Office on behalf of the Treasury to extend the period and the amount of the capitalisation to fund the scheme.
Lambeth council said it was incorrect to suggest that the request to extend term of borrowing created a delay in settling claims and that it was continuing to make payments.
A Lambeth council spokesman said: “Lambeth council re-states our sincere and profound apologies for the dark history of shameful abuse committed against children and young people in care homes which existed in the past, but which are now closed.
“Awarding compensation, offering counselling and support services, publicly apologising and listening to victims and survivors have been central to our efforts to address the wrongs of the past which had been ignored for so long.
“Lambeth council’s redress scheme is the first of its kind in the country with the compensation and support provided to victims and survivors having exceeded £100million.
“We secured a capitalisation direction from the Government giving the council permission to borrow £125million needed to fund the scheme. We have now applied to the Government to extend both the period and the amount of the capitalisation.
“We are continuing to process and settle those applications received before the scheme closed earlier this year.
“There are presently some 445 open applications, and we received 221 in the last month of the scheme alone.
“We are satisfied that there is no evidence of Lambeth making ‘low offers’ of compensation. However, there is an independent appeal panel for survivors who want to challenge their award and the scheme provides for survivors to obtain independent legal advice throughout the application process.”
Pictured top: Angell Road, one of the care homes involved in the redress scheme (Picture: Independent Inquiry Child Sexual Abuse)
The people in charge of this Scheme should be deeply ashamed. They are disgusting and act only in their own self-interest. They only say what people want to hear and I doubt that they feel any actual remorse. They only feel badly for themselves and no one else. They lack integrity and they would benefit from lessons on how to behave like proper human beings. It is despicable behaviour and it needs to be investigated. Their behaviour is atrocious and someone needs to investigate them because who knows how they calculate the compensation – there is something very, very wrong.
As far as I know, no sincere public apology has been made. There has not been a proper apology. They have not apologised in any meaningful way. All they do is act in their own self-interest and they do not care at all about hurting people. They are not good human beings and
Look up the definition of Scheme: “make plans, especially in a devious way or with intent to do something illegal or wrong.” Sound familiar, Lambeth?
Keep fighting for justice, SOSA! Lambeth is corrupt, acts only in its self-interest .
God Bless You, SOSA.
It is obvious that Lambeth has a lot to hide. Lambeth, you have to do much better. You are devoid of any amount of human decency.
The people in charge of this scheme lie and deny people their proper amount of compensation. The amounts need to be investigated properly.
Thus far, the apologies have been just pathetic attempts. No real public apology nor acknowledgement has been made.
They lack morals and decency.
Their lies need to be exposed. The way in which they treat people is horrific.
Those in charge of the scheme should be ashamed of themselves and their conduct. They are evil and cruel. They don’t care about people at all. Please, please do all that you can to expose them and the ways that they lie and cheat.
What type of human being allows such deceit to occur?
It is obvious that the survivors of such atrocity are being silenced by Lambeth. Those in the higher positions at Lambeth have no interest in justice. Their actions thus far have been awful. They ignore people who try to talk to them and they have treated the SOSA embers in a horrific way.
The managers are bullies and have yet to tell the truth to the public. Their behaviour towards SOSA has been shameful. They have no consideration for others and their behaviour is shambolic. They need to be investigated and so does the correspondence between them and whomever decided on the amount of compensation for survivors. Something about this does not make sense and those in power and Lambeth and who were in charge of implementing the scheme do not care at all about others and someone needs to expose their lies, their treatment of SOSA, the way in which compensation was handled and just their treatment of others in general.
Furthermore, many people have attempted to write the truth on Trust Pilot, only to have their postings erased. That is a scary abuse of power by someone. What was written was true.
I hope that with articles such as this one the truth about Lambeth shall be preserved.