asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will announce the action he is taking to speed up the compensation payments to the prison officers, details of which have been supplied to him, and explain why there has been a delay of five years.

Applications for compensation for personal injuries under the provisions of the Criminal Injuries to Persons (Compensation) Act (Northern Ireland) 1968 are a matter for the courts and it would not be proper for me to comment on them. I shall write to the hon. Member about other aspects of the matter in reply to his letter of 26 November.