To ask the First Minister and deputy First Minister to detail the number of applications to the Troubles Permanent Disablement Payment Scheme that have remained unresolved for (i) more than one year; (ii) more than two years; (iii) more than three years; and (iv) more than four years, including the principal reasons for applications remaining unresolved for these periods.

Due to the varied and complex nature of applications under the Victims’ Payments Scheme, average timeframes do not provide a meaningful measure of overall Scheme performance. Consequently, this is not a key performance indicator that is monitored or recorded. Applications progress through the various stages of the Scheme at different rates.

Each application is unique and the processing time can vary greatly. The progress of each application is dependent on the provision of supporting information from external organisations – something outside of the control of the Victims’ Payments Board. Given the historical nature of the subject matter, the passage of time makes certain records difficult or impossible to retrieve, the Victims’ Payments Board are often dealing with incidents that happened up to 50 years ago.

It is also important to highlight that approximately one in three applications have multiple incidents with varying levels of detail to set against the tests required by the legislation that underpins the Scheme. Each incident requires both verification of eligibility and evidence gathering and requires a separate determination, which can take a considerable amount of time to process.

Application processing includes but is not limited to, verification checks, evidence gathering, and a medical assessment. Delays also occur where an application form is incomplete, supporting evidence is missing or there are gaps in incident disclosure etc.

As of the 5 October 2026, 16,369 applications have been submitted to the Scheme, with 5,474 determinations made by the Board. Almost £164 million has paid to eligible applicants since the Scheme opened for applications on 31 August 2021.