A NEW law to compensate institutional abuse victims should be progressed through Westminster, the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service has said.
In 2017, the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) Inquiry recommended compensation payments to victims.
But payments were stalled following the collapse of Stormont in January 2017 - just days after the abuse inquiry report was published.
In a letter to a victims' group, civil service head David Sterling said he had written to secretary of state Karen Bradley last week to request compensation payments.
He wrote to Mrs Bradley following the end of a public consultation on the matter.
Responses to the consultation will be published on Monday.
According to the BBC, Mr Sterling told the victims' group the Executive Office would help the secretary of state "administratively".
The letter also told Mrs Bradley there was a need to "bring this matter to a satisfactory conclusion, particularly given the age profiles of those involved".
He said he would also write to the main Stormont party leaders to keep them updated.
Survivors of historical institutional abuse launched an unsuccessful legal bid to force Mrs Bradley to introduce compensation payments.
A High Court judge ruled last month that there was no unlawful failure to act by either Mrs Bradley or the Executive Office.
During a hearing, it emerged that as many as 30 survivors of historical institutional abuse have died since the inquiry ended two years ago.
A spokesperson for the Executive Office confirmed that Mr Sterling had written to Mrs Bradley asking her to push legislation through Parliament.
