Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) This Scheme may be cited as the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Amendment Scheme 1985 and shall come into operation on 25th November 1985.

(2) In this Scheme the expression “the principal Scheme” means the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983(2).

Amendment of Article 2 of the principal Scheme

2.  In paragraph (23) of Article 2 of the principal Scheme (definitions)–

(a)in sub-paragraph (a)(ii) after the word “thing;” there shall be inserted the word “or”;

(b)in sub-paragraph (b) for the words “or any person” there shall be substituted the words “on any person” .

Amendment of Article 18 of the principal Scheme

3.  In Article 18 of the principal Scheme (unemployability allowances)–

(a)in paragraph (2) for the amount “£1222” there shall be substituted the amount “£1300” ;

(b)after paragraph (2) there shall be inserted the following new paragraph:–

“(2A) A disabled person shall not be eligible for any award under this Article in respect of a period in which he is over pensionable age unless, on the relevant day, he was unemployable by reason of pensioned disablement.”;

(c)after paragraph (6) there shall be added the following new paragraph:–

“(7) In this Article–

(a)“pensionable age” means –

(i)in the case of the disabled person being a man, the age of 65, or

(ii)in the case of the disabled person being a woman, the age of 60;

(b)“pensioned disablement” means disablement in respect of which the disabled person was, or would, if he had claimed it, have been, in receipt of a pension under Article 11 on the relevant day;

(c)“the relevant day” means –

(i)the day immediately preceding that on which the disabled person attained pensionable age, or

(ii)the day immediately following that on which the disabled person was last engaged in work from which he derived earnings in excess of the figure for the time being specified in paragraph (2),

whichever is the later.”

Amendment of Article 21 of the principal Scheme

4.  In Article 21 of the principal Scheme (allowance for lowered standard of occupation) after paragraph (3) there shall be added the following new paragraphs:–

“(4) A disabled person shall not be eligible for an award under this Article in respect of a period in which he is over pensionable age unless, on the relevant day, his pensioned disablement was such as to render him incapable, and likely to remain permanently incapable, of following his regular occupation, and incapable of following any other occupation which was of an equivalent standard and was suitable in his case.

   

(5) In this Article–

(a)“pensionable age” means –

(i)in the case of the disabled person being a man, the age of 65, or

(ii)in the case of the disabled person being a woman, the age of 60;

(b)“qualifying disablement” means disablement in respect of which the disabled person had, on or before the relevant day, been awarded a pension under Article 11, or would have been awarded such a pension had he claimed it;

(c)“the relevant day” means –

(i)the day immediately preceding that on which the disabled person attained pensionable age, or

(ii)the day immediately following that on which the disabled person was last engaged in remunerative work,

whichever is the later.”

Amendment of Article 76 of the principal Scheme

5.  In Article 76 of the principal Scheme (review of decisions, assessments and awards)–

(a)in paragraph (2) for the words “Subject as aforesaid” there shall be substituted the words “Subject to the provisions of paragraphs (3), (4), (7) and (8)”;

(b)after paragraph (7) there shall be added the following new paragraph:–

“(8) Where a disabled person has attained the age of 65, in the case of that person being a man, or 60, in the case of that person being a woman, paragraph (2)(b) shall not apply so as to enable an award of allowance for lowered standard of occupation under Article 21 to be reviewed on the ground that the rate of the disabled person's earnings has, or would, in his regular occupation, have, changed since the date of the award.”

Amendment of Article 78 of the principal Scheme

6.  In Article 78(1) of the principal Scheme (power to dispense with probate) for paragraph (1) there shall be substituted the following paragraph:–

“(1) Where a person to whom any payment could have been made under this Scheme before his death dies before the payment is made, and the amount unpaid does not exceed £5,000, the amount so unpaid may be paid to the personal representative or, in Scotland, the executor of the deceased person without probate, confirmation or other proof of title, or may be paid or distributed to or among the persons appearing to the Secretary of State to be the persons beneficially entitled to the personal estate of the deceased person, or, in Scotland, the persons entitled to the moveable estate of the deceased person, or to or among any one or more of those persons, and, in determining the persons to whom and the proportions in which the amount so unpaid shall be paid or distributed, the Secretary of State may have regard to any payments made or expenses incurred by any such person for or on account of the funeral of the deceased person.”

Substitution of Schedules 3 and 4 to the principal Scheme

7.  For Schedules 3 and 4 to the principal Scheme (rates of pensions and allowances payable in respect of disablement and death) there shall respectively be substituted the Schedules set out in the Schedule hereto and numbered 3 and 4.

Article 7

SCHEDULESchedules to be substituted in the principal Scheme

Article 11

“SCHEDULE 3RATES OF PENSIONS AND ALLOWANCES PAYABLE IN RESPECT OF DISABLEMENT

Article 27

SCHEDULE 4RATES OF PENSIONS AND ALLOWANCES PAYABLE IN RESPECT OF DEATH

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Scheme further amends the Personal Injuries (Civilians) Scheme 1983 (“the principal Scheme”) which makes provision for the payment of pensions and allowances to or in respect of civilians who were killed or injured in the 1939-45 War.

The principal Scheme is amended so as to restrict the circumstances in which disabled persons over the age of 65 (in the case of a man) or 60 (in the case of a woman) may be eligible for unemployability allowance or allowance for lowered standard of occupation ( Articles 3 and 4).

This Scheme amends Article 76 of the principal Scheme to preclude a review of an award of allowance for lowered standard of occupation to reflect any subsequent change in the rate of earnings of a disabled person who is over the age of 65 (in the case of a man) or 60 (in the case of a woman) (Article 5).

The provisions of Article 78 of the principal Scheme are amended to increase the maximum amount which the Secretary of State may, without proof of title, pay to the personal representatives of a deceased person, or to persons entitled to his estate, in respect of payments due under the principal Scheme to the deceased person prior to his death. Article 78 is also amended to make further provision for its application to Scotland (Article 6).

This Scheme also raises the maximum amount of annual earnings which may be received by a disabled person while he is deemed to be unemployable for the purposes of unemployability allowances under Article 18 of the principal Scheme, and varies the rates of pensions and allowances in respect of disablement and death in the 1939-45 War (Article 3(a) and 7, and the Schedule). In addition, minor amendments are made to remove textual errors in the definition of “war injury” in Article 2(23) of the principal Scheme.