53850 (2025). Hon Willow-Jean Prime to the Minister of Education

53850 (2025). Hon Willow-Jean Prime to the Minister of Education: What is the average time, if any, taken for the Ministry of Education to close a sensitive claim (formerly called historic abuse claims) from the time it is assessed as eligible, for claimants without legal representation?

Hon Erica Stanford: I am advised that the Ministry of Education does not track this information and cannot collate this information without diverting staff from their core roles which would not be in the public interest. As at 27 November, approximately 55 claims are under assessment at various stages of the process (i.e. early research, interview, report-writing, drafting response). Some of these claims date back to 2021. Claims granted ‘priority’ status for age or ill-health are moved to the top of the queue, regardless of when they were filed. This is also my response for written parliamentary questions 53851, 53852, 53853, 53854, and 53855 (2025).