Parliamentary Pensions etc. Act 1984

Grants to persons ceasing to be office-holders or Representatives to the Assembly of the European Communities

13Grants to persons ceasing to hold certain Ministerial and other offices

(1)Where a person who has not attained the age of 65 ceases at any time after the passing of this Act (" the material time ") to hold a relevant office, he shall be entitled to a payment under this section if—

(a)he has not been a Member of the House of Commons at any time during the period of two years ending at the material time ;

(b)he was throughout that period the holder of a relevant office (whether the same office or a succession of different offices); and

(c)he does not again become the holder of a relevant office within the period of three weeks beginning at the material time.

(2)The amount of the payment to which a person who has ceased to hold a relevant office is entitled under this section is the amount equal to one-quarter of the annual amount of the salary which was being paid to that person in respect of that office immediately before the material time.

(3)A payment under this section shall not be made until the end of the period mentioned in subsection (1)(c) above.

(4)No payment shall be made under this section where a person has ceased to hold a relevant office on his death.

(5)Where a person has at any time (whether before or after the passing of this Act) ceased to hold a relevant office but has again become the holder of such an office within the period of three weeks beginning at that time, then, on any subsequent occasion on which he ceases to hold a relevant office, the fact that he was not the holder of such an office for any part of that period of three weeks shall be disregarded for the purpose of—

(a)calculating the period of two years mentioned in sub section (1)(a) and (b) above ; and

(b)determining whether he was the holder of a relevant office throughout the period so mentioned.

(6)Where a person ceases on a dissolution of Parliament to hold the position of Leader of the Opposition in the House of Lords or Chief Opposition Whip in the House of Lords, subsection (1)(c) above and, in the event of his ceasing to hold a relevant office on a subsequent occasion, subsection (5) above shall have effect in relation to his ceasing to hold that position on that dissolution as if for the words " three weeks " (wherever occuring) there were substituted the words " six weeks " .

(7)In this section " relevant office " means an office or position in respect of which a salary is payable under any provision of the [1975 c. 27.] Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975 or the office of Chairman of Committees of the House of Lords or any office of Deputy Chairman of Committees of the House of Lords in respect of which a salary is payable out of money provided by Parliament; and in subsection (6) above " Leader of the Opposition " and " Chief Opposition Whip " have the same meaning as in that Act.

14Grants to persons ceasing to be Representatives to the Assembly of the European Communities

The [1979 c. 50.] European Assembly (Pay and Pensions) Act 1979 shall have effect, and be deemed always to have had effect, with the substitution for section 3 (grants to Representatives losing their seats) of the following sections—

“3Resettlement grants to persons ceasing to be Representatives.

(1)Where a person who is a Representative immediately before the end of any five-year period either—

(a)did not stand for election to the Assembly at the general election of representatives to the Assembly held in that period ; or

(b)did so stand (whether for the same or a different constituency) at that election and was not elected,

he shall, unless he attained the age of 65 before the end of that period, be entitled to a resettlement grant calculated in accordance with the following provisions of this section.

(2)Where a person becomes entitled to a grant under this section at the end of any five-year period, its amount shall be equal to the relevant percentage of a year's salary under section 1 at the rate applicable to him immediately before the end of that period, the relevant percentage for this purpose being that shown in the following Table in relation to his age at the end of that period and the number of years for which he has served as a Representative before the end of that period.

(3)In calculating for the purposes of subsection (2) the number of years for which a person has served as a Representative before the end of the period in question, there shall be disregarded—

(a)any fraction of a year for which he has so served; and

(b)if he has become entitled to a grant under this section on any previous occasion, any period of service which for those purposes was on that occasion either taken into account or disregarded under paragraph (a).

(4)In relation to the five-year period ending in 1984, subsection (1) shall have effect as if the words ' unless he attained the age of 65 before the end of that period' were omitted.

(5)In this section ' five-year period' means a period of five years for which representatives have been elected to the Assembly; but if any such period is extended or curtailed, the references in this section to the end of that period shall be construed accordingly.

3APower to amend section 3.

(1)If it appears to the Secretary of State that the effect, at any time, of section 3 in relation to persons ceasing to be Representatives is not or was not equivalent to the effect, at that time, of the arrangements made pursuant to any resolution or combination of resolutions of the House of Commons for the payment of grants to persons ceasing to be Members on a dissolution of Parliament, he may by order amend that section for the purpose of making its effect in relation to persons ceasing to be Representatives as nearly so equivalent as he considers practicable.

(2)An order under this section—

(a)may provide for the order to be deemed to have come into force on a date before the date on which it is made, but

(b)shall not reduce the amount of, or cancel any entitlement to, any grant under section 3 to which a person has become entitled before the date on which the order is made.

(3)The power to amend section 3 conferred by this section includes power to make new provision in place of that section, whether by substituting one or more new sections or otherwise; and references in this section to that section shall accordingly include any provisions for the time being having effect in place of it by virtue of an order under this section.”.