Ms Mary Higgins:

New applicants are people who have not received anything from us at all. What we call "repeat applicants" are people who have made applications, gone through the process, received payments and whose applications have been completed. As the Chairman described, we were constantly dealing with repeat applicants who were returning for more, which meant that new applicants were not getting a look in. The decision was made - I believe it was in July 2015 - to prioritise new applicants over repeat ones.