'Not surprised': Why Kate Forbes has blocked Fornethy Survivors from accessing compensation

Survivors of historic abuse at Fornethy House say they are “shocked, disgusted and angry” after Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes once again blocked them from receiving compensation.

Around 200 women make up the Fornethy Survivors. They suffered horrific physical, emotional and sexual abuse while staying at Fornethy House in Angus between the 1960s and 1990s.

Marion Reid, who went to Fornethy House with her older sister for six weeks back in 1965, said: “I am livid, I have never been so angry in all my life as I am today.

“We have been fighting this for years and we have the support of the majority of the Parliament. We have followed all the procedures and put in all the work that has been asked of us to get to this point. The SNP Government is just thinking of the purse strings, it is the same old story.”

Ms Reid added: “The amount of stress these women are being put through, including me, and they don’t care. How can they get away with it?

“There is not a hope in hell we are going away - they don’t know how strong these women are.”

These women are not able to access the Redress Scotland scheme, which offers up to £100,000 compensation for those abused in residential care, because they were only in short-term respite care.

Hopes were raised last month when a Holyrood committee told the Scottish Government to overturn this ruling, saying it “created an unjustified barrier”. However, Ms Forbes has now said she will not alter the eligibility criteria to allow the Fornethy Survivors to access this compensation scheme.

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Ms Forbes said: “The change to the eligibility criteria … would be in direct contrast to the policy intention of the scheme and would, if implemented, have substantial consequences for survivors, contributors and the administration of the scheme.

“The potential risks of implementing such a change are acknowledged by the Law Society, who note that it would have ‘wider implications beyond this individual group of survivors, and this would seem to potentially extend the scope of the Redress Scheme beyond its original intended aim’.

“After careful consideration of these issues, I have decided not to amend the eligibility criteria for Scotland’s Redress Scheme.”