it was reported that the scheme could pay a maximum of £500,000 to victims of crime. The payment system is based on a 35 tier system split into two parts. Part A of the CICA tariff covers injuries such as burns, paralysis, medically recognised illness, mental injury, peripheral sensory nerve damage and motor nerve damage as well as injuries to the head and neck, upper limbs, torso and lower limbs. Part B of the tariff covers fatal injuries, physical abuse in adults, sexual abuse, child abuse, infection as a result of sexual abuse and loss of foetus. The 2012 scheme In January 2012, Justice Secretary Ken Clarke proposed further reforms to the scheme. There was cross-party support for altering the Scheme to compensate victims of overseas terrorist attacks. However, there was criticism of proposals to end compensation awards for certain minor injuries, a lowering of the tariff award for many injuries and for applying more severe reductions to awards for people who have been convicted of a crime. The 2012 scheme came into force on 30 September 2012 and applies to all claims received on or after 27 November 2012. It is less generous than previous schemes, with certain minor injuries removed altogether and others reduced in value. Residency criteria now mean that most applicants must be ordinarily resident in the UK, or a British or EU citizen. The rules on criminal convictions are more restrictive in that having an unspent criminal conviction that resulted in a prison sentence will mean automatic rejection, no matter what the offence. And claims for loss of earnings, previously always based on the applicant's actual losses up to a maximum of one-and-a-half times the national average wage, are now assessed entirely at the rate of statutory sick pay regardless of the applicant's actual losses. The total maximum award for a claim remains at £500,000, a figure that has remained unchanged since the original tariff scheme in 1996. The cuts in compensation are described by the CICA's Chief Executive in the annual report as being "designed to put the Scheme on a more sustainable financial footing by removing awards for people with the least serious injuries and focusing awards on victims with more serious injuries". A guide to the 2012 scheme is available on the Ministry of Justice website. Eligibility The rules in the Scheme are complex and are explained in the guide to the