(1)At the end of subsection (1) of section 35 of the M1Powers of Criminal Courts Act 1973 there shall be added the words “or to make payments for funeral expenses or bereavement in respect of a death resulting from any such offence, other than a death due to an accident arising out of the presence of a motor vehicle on a road; and a court shall give reasons, on passing sentence, if it does not make such an order in a case where this section empowers it to do so.
(2)The following subsections shall be substituted for subsection (3) of that section—
“(3)A compensation order may only be made in respect of injury, loss or damage (other than loss suffered by a person’s dependants in consequence of his death) which was due to an accident arising out of the presence of a motor vehicle on a road, if—
(a)it is in respect of damage which is treated by subsection (2) above as resulting from an offence under the Theft Act l968; or
(b)it is in respect of injury, loss or damage as respects which—
(i)the offender is uninsured in relation to the use of the vehicle; and
(ii)compensation is not payable under any arrangements to which the Secretary of State is a party;
and, where a compensation order is made in respect of injury, loss or damage due to such an accident, the amount to be paid may include an amount representing the whole or part of any loss of or reduction in preferential rates of insurance attributable to the accident.
(3A)A vehicle the use of which is exempted from insurance by section 144 of the Road Traffic Act 1972 is not uninsured for the purposes of subsection (3) above.
(3B)A compensation order in respect of funeral expenses may be made for the benefit of anyone who incurred the expenses.
(3C)A compensation order in respect of bereavement may only be made for the benefit of a person for whose benefit a claim for damages for bereavement could be made under section 1A of the Fatal Accidents Act 1976.
(3D)The amount of compensation in respect of bereavement shall not exceed the amount for the time being specified in section 1A(3) of the Fatal Accidents Act l976.”.
Marginal Citations