EXCLUSIVE: Survivors and their solicitors fume at cost of Lambeth abuse investigation and lack of compensation

A child abuse survivors’ group is furious the legal cost of working out their compensation has almost matched the amount of money paid out to victims so far.
And their solicitors fear many more people who are entitled to payments will miss out because of the two-year window for claims.
An update on the one-year-old redress scheme for people who were abused in Lambeth care homes over the last 70 years has revealed lawyers have been paid a total of £874,695.
But negotiated payments to 68 individual victims have so far totalled just £915,000.
Another £7.7million has gone to 851 former residents in the form of “harm’s way payments” (HWP) for having lived in the 32 Lambeth homes, at any stage since the Second World War.
The cost of administering the scheme alone is £2.13m.
It closes to applications after 5pm on January 1, 2020, and Malcolm Johnson, a senior solicitor at Hudgell Solicitors and a specialist in supporting people who were victims of abuse in childhood, fears many victims could miss out.
He feels that not enough has been done to help survivors and too few payments have been completed recognising the most serious cases of physical and sexual abuse, leading to long-term suffering.
He said: “The figures of £9.4m in damages and 1,000 applications to the scheme in the first year may sound substantial initially, but we must not forget that the estimates when this scheme was established were that there had been around 3,000 potential victims, and that damages payments could reach in excess of £100m.
“With that in mind, in reality this scheme has so far only reached the tip of the iceberg in terms of facing up to the past and delivering redress to all those people who suffered so horrifically as children under this authority’s watch.
“It is not enough after year as we now have around eight months left to support survivors through the process and ensure that they are given all the support they need to get the redress and damages they deserve.”
The figures, revealed in papers for next Monday’s Lambeth cabinet meeting, have outraged the Shirley Oaks Survivors Association, which has more than 1,500 members.
Spokesman Ray Stephenson said: “We are disturbed by the amount of money being paid to the council’s lawyers already.
“We have still not been given a breakdown of the costs but believe this could end up costing the borough’s council tax payers £40million before this is all finalised in 18 months’ time.
“Meanwhile, our members are being quizzed about their ordeal and made low compensation offers – so they are being told they are worthless, which just reinforces the messages of the abuse they suffered. We had one case where the first offer was £80,000 and the survivor was finally awarded £179,000.
“In the last year, six members have attempted suicide.
“We have asked our own lawyers to justify every penny they are being paid by members.
“If you saw a crime happening in broad daylight, you would report it. That is what is happening here.”
A total of 1,002 people have applied for compensation – 728, or 78 per cent, were placed in Shirley Oaks Children’s Home in Croydon, pictured above, 140 or 14 per cent in South Vale and 26, or three percent, in Wood Vale. Lambeth council took the homes over from London County County in 1965.
Among the claims, 14 are from families of residents who have since died. Of the residents since 1965, 52 per cent are black.
Up to 10 applicants live in Australia and New Zealand; 10 in the USA and 18 in Europe. There have been 10 claims by disabled survivors, who get an automatic £10,000 payment.
The HWP is up to £10,000, depending on how long the claimant was in a home, with those who stayed for just a week being given £1,000. The £7.765m in HWPs agreed so far have cost £7.765m.
The estimated overall cost of £140million has been downgraded in the last year to £100m, which will be paid for through a loan.
Up to 32 of the claimants wanted a letter of apology from Lambeth.
Mr Johnson added: “Make no mistake, there was a culture of abuse that flourished for decades in Lambeth’s homes, both in foster care and at residential facilities. In all my years representing survivors of abuse in different boroughs up and down the country, I have never seen anything on this scale.
“The awards need to be relative to their suffering and that is what the scheme is in place to do. It is there to recognise the awful level of suffering so many children endured.
“We have encountered issues in this area and it is another reason why people need to come forward as soon as possible so that we can make representation on their behalf as strongly as possible.”
The town hall officers’ report for Monday’s cabinet meeting says: “The processing of those applications that have been concluded (where all payments have been
made to the applicant) has taken an average of 140 working days. This equates to approximately seven months which is significantly quicker than the equivalent time taken to deal with civil claims of a similar nature.
“We continue to work closely with the scheme solicitors, Kennedys LLP, to ensure applications are processed as quickly as possible. Kennedys in turn are liaising with the applicant solicitors to identify any matters that can be progressed. Given the nature of these applications it is understandable that some individuals will wish to take time to carefully consider any offer of redress and there may be a subsequent period of clarification. The scheme does not impose any particular timescales for the acceptance of an offer, to allow individuals sufficient time to consider offers.
“There have been 34 applications that have been settled as at the end of the first year. A further 167 (16.8%) applications where the applicant has already received all of the compensation and the application is still open pending the
finalisation of legal fees.
“It has been suggested that the council could make blanket Harm’s Way Payments based on residence alone. This would amount to an unlawful fetter of its discretion and would not be considered fair as between former residents in differing circumstances.
“The council has taken advice from leading counsel in the development of the scheme. The advice from counsel is that the scheme delivers appropriate recompense for those subjected to abuse and that the Tariffs reflect the awards the civil courts would make.”