The Department of Justice has made the Damages for Bereavement (Variation of Sum) Order (Northern Ireland) 2025 (S.R. 2025 No. 173). The instrument raises the fixed bereavement award under Article 3A of the Fatal Accidents (Northern Ireland) Order 1977 from £17,200 to £19,700. It comes into operation on 1 December 2025 and applies only to causes of action accruing on or after that date.
The legal basis is Article 3A(5) of the 1977 Order, which permits the Department of Justice to vary the sum by order subject to negative resolution. The 2025 Rule exercises that power by substituting the new amount into Article 3A(3).
This is the first change since November 2022, when the award increased to £17,200 (from £15,100 in 2019). Prior to those changes, the figure had been £11,800 since 2008. The 2025 update continues the sequence of periodic upratings.
Eligibility for the fixed-sum award is unchanged. Under Article 3A(2), it is payable to a spouse or civil partner, and-where the deceased was a minor who was never married or in a civil partnership-to the parents (or the mother only if the deceased was illegitimate). Where both parents qualify, the sum is divided equally.
Transitional position: claims where the cause of action accrues before 1 December 2025 remain at the previous statutory sum set in 2022; claims accruing on or after that date attract the £19,700 figure. Practitioners should confirm the accrual date when pleading or settling fatal accident claims.
Criminal compensation orders are indirectly affected. Under the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 1994, a compensation order for bereavement must not exceed the amount specified in Article 3A(3) of the 1977 Order; the statutory cap therefore rises in line with the new figure once in force.
For context outside Northern Ireland, the fixed bereavement award in England and Wales has stood at £15,120 since 1 May 2020, set by secondary legislation under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976.
Administrative note: the Rule was sealed on 6 November 2025 and signed by the Minister of Justice, Naomi Long. Insurers, public bodies and legal teams should update valuation models, settlement templates and public guidance ahead of commencement to reflect the new statutory sum.