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24 1932

ARMY PENSIONS ACT, 1932

PART III.

Amendment of the Army Pensions Acts, 1923 and 1927.

Amendment of section 10 of Act of 1923.

21. —Sub-section (3) of section 10 of the Act of 1923 shall be construed and have effect as if for the words “the Minister” now contained therein there were substituted the words “any Minister or Department of State.”

Amendment of Second and Third Schedules to the Act of 1923.

22. —(1) The Second Schedule to the Act of 1923 is hereby amended in the following respects and shall be construed and have effect accordingly, that is to say:—

(a) by the insertion in section 3 of the said Schedule of the word “unmarried” before the word “daughter”; and

(b) by the insertion in section 5 (c) of the said Schedule of the words “permanently invalided unmarried” before the word “sister”; and

(c) by the insertion in section 6 of the said Schedule of the word “unmarried” before the word “sister.”

(2) The Third Schedule to the Act of 1923 is hereby amended in the following respects and shall be construed and have effect accordingly, that is to say:—

(a) by the insertion in section 2 of the said Schedule of the words “unmarried and” after the word “daughters”; and

(b) by the insertion in section 4 (c) of the said Schedule of the words “permanently invalided unmarried” before the word “sister”; and

(c) by the insertion in section 5 of the said Schedule of the word “unmarried” before the word “sister.”

(3) Where it appears to the Minister that a person to whom an allowance has been granted under section 3, section 5 (a), section 5 (c) or section 6 of the Second Schedule to the Act of 1923 as amended by this section or under section 3, section 4 (a) or section 4 (c) or section 5 of the Third Schedule to the Act of 1923 as amended by this section has married since the commencement of such allowance or that a person to whom an allowance has been granted under section 5 (c) of the Second Schedule to the Act of 1923, or section 4 (c) of the Third Schedule to the Act of 1923 has recovered, the Minister may reconsider such allowance and, if he thinks fit, reduce or terminate such allowance.

Finality of awards under previous Acts.

23. —(1) Where before the passing of this Act an award of a gratuity under the Acts of 1923 and 1927 in respect of a wound was made or an award of a pension or gratuity under the said Acts in respect of a wound was refused, such award or the refusal of such award (as the case may be) shall, save as is otherwise provided by this section, be final and incapable of reconsideration or review.

(2) Any person to whom an award of a gratuity under the Acts of 1923 and 1927 in respect of a wound was made before the passing of this Act or any person to whom an award of a pension or gratuity under the said Acts in respect of a wound was refused before the passing of this Act solely on the ground that such person was not suffering from any disablement may apply within twelve months after the passing of this Act to the Minister to have the amount of such award or the refusal of such award (as the case may be) re-considered and thereupon the Minister, if he thinks proper so to do, may refer the matter to the Army Pensions Board for re-consideration and may, on the report of the Army Pensions Board, grant such pension or gratuity (if any) as could have been granted if such report had been made when the case was first investigated under the Acts of 1923 and 1927, subject to the limitation that any pension so granted shall commence on whichever of the following dates is the later, that is to say, the 1st day of April, 1932 or the date which is found by the Army Pensions Board to be the date on which the disablement in respect of which such pension is granted first attained to twenty per cent.

Revision of final grants of pensions under the Acts of 1923 and 1927.

24. —(1) Where a final grant of a pension to any person has been made under the Acts of 1923 and 1927, and such person at any time or times within ten years from the date of such final grant represents to the Minister that the degree of his disablement at the time of such representation is, in case such person is then in actual receipt of such pension, ten per cent. or more in excess of his previous degree of his disablement, or in case such pension is then suspended under this section, is not less than the relevant minimum, and furnishes prima facie evidence which is in the opinion of the Minister satisfactory in support of such representation, the Minister may request the Army Pensions Board to re-examine medically such person and re-assess his degree of disablement, and upon such re-assessment being made the following provisions shall have effect, that is to say:—

(a) in case such person is at the time in actual receipt of such pension, then—

(i) if the degree of his disablement is found on such re-assessment to be greater than his previous degree of disablement or less than his previous degree of disablement but not less than the relevant minimum, the Minister may, if he so thinks fit, increase or reduce (in accordance with such assessment) the amount of such pension to an amount appropriate under the said Act to the case of a person suffering from a degree of disablement corresponding to the degree so re-assessed, or

(ii) if the degree of his disablement is found on such re-assessment to be less than the relevant minimum the Minister may, if he so thinks fit, suspend such pension, without prejudice however to the right of such person to make a further representation under this section within the time limited by this section; or

(b) in case the pension of such person is at the time suspended under this section, then—

(i) if the degree of his disablement is found on such re-assessment to be not less than the relevant minimum, the Minister may, if he so thinks fit, remove such suspension and fix the pension at an amount appropriate under the said Act to the case of a person suffering from a degree of disablement corresponding to the degree so re-assessed, or

(ii) if the degree of his disablement is found on such re-assessment to be less than the relevant minimum, such pension shall continue to be suspended without prejudice however to the right of such person to make a further representation under this section within the time limited by this section.

(2) Every increase of a pension or removal of suspension of payment of a pension under this section shall take effect from such date (not being earlier in any case than the 1st day of April, 1932,) as the Minister thinks proper and every decrease of a pension or suspension of a pension under this section shall take effect from such date (not being earlier than the date of the re-assessment which resulted in such decrease or suspension) as the Minister thinks proper.

(3) In this section the expression “relevant minimum” means in relation to a disablement attributable to a wound 20 per cent. and in relation to a disablement attributable to disease 80 per cent.

(4) References in this section to the previous degree of disablement of a person making a representation under this section shall be construed as referring to the degree of disablement by reference to which the amount of the final grant of the pension to such person was made or if the degree of disablement of that person was re-assessed under this section, to the degree of disablement as last so re-assessed before the making of such representation.

Amendment of section 14 of the Act of 1927.

25. —(1) Notwithstanding anything in paragraph (ii) of sub-section (1) of section 14 of the Act of 1927, the Minister shall not on or on account of the death of any person to whom, by virtue of paragraph (e) of the said sub-section, the said sub-section applies grant to the widow or any child of such person any of the allowances or gratuities on re-marriage specified in the appropriate Part of the Sixth Schedule to the Act of 1927 in respect of widows and children unless, in case of the widow, she was married to such person before his discharge from the forces or, in the case of the children, such children are the children of a marriage contracted before his discharge from the forces.

(2) No allowance or gratuity shall after the passing of this Act be granted under sub-section (2) of section 14 of the Act of 1927 to the widow or child of an officer unless the marriage of such widow to such officer took place before the 1st day of October, 1924.

Amendment of section 18 of the Act of 1927.

26. —Sub-sections (2) and (3) of section 18 of the Act of 1927 are hereby repealed and in lieu thereof it is hereby enacted as follows, that is to say:—

(a) every application by a person discharged from the forces (whether before or after the passing of this Act) for the grant of a wound pension, or gratuity under the Act of 1923 as amended by the Act of 1927 or under the Act of 1927 on account of a wound attributable to service shall be made within twelve months after the day on which such wound was received or the date of the passing of this Act, whichever is the later;

(b) every application for the grant of a disability pension under the Act of 1927 shall be made within twelve months after the date of the passing of this Act.

Time limit for application for allowances and gratuities under the Act of 1927 by widows, children and dependants of certain persons.

27. —(1) Where—

(a) a person dies more than twelve months after the date of the passing of this Act, and

(b) such person's death is due to disease, and

(c) such person was not immediately before his death in receipt of a disability pension under the Act of 1927 in respect of such disease, and

(d) such person did not within twelve months after the date of the passing of this Act duly apply for a disability pension in respect of such disease,

no claim in respect of the death of such person for an allowance or gratuity under the Act of 1927 by the widow or any child or dependant of such person shall be entertained.

(2) Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the operation of sub-section (5) of section 18 of the Act of 1927.

Amendment of Sixth and Seventh Schedules to the Act of 1927.

28. —(1) The Sixth Schedule to the Act of 1927 is hereby amended in the following respects and shall be construed and have effect accordingly, that is to say:—

(a) by the insertion in section 3 of Part I of the said Schedule of the word “unmarried” before the word “daughter”; and

(b) by the insertion in section 5 (c) of the said Part I of the words “permanently invalided unmarried” before the word “sister”; and

(c) by the insertion in section 6 of the said Part I of the word “unmarried” before the word “sister”; and

(d) by the insertion in section 2 of Part II of the said, Schedule of the words “unmarried and” after the word “daughters”; and

(e) by the insertion in section 4 (c) of the said Part II of the words “permanently invalided unmarried” before the word “sister”; and

(f) by the insertion in section 5 of the said Part II of the word “unmarried” before the word “sister.”

(2) The Seventh Schedule to the Act of 1927 is hereby amended in the following respects and shall be construed and have effect accordingly, that is to say:—

(a) by the insertion in section 3 of Part I of the said Schedule of the words “who are in the case of sons under the age of 18 and in the case of daughters unmarried and” after the word “children”; and

(b) by the insertion in section 2 of Part II of the said, Schedule of the words “who are in the case of sons under the age of 18 and in the case of daughters unmarried and” after the word “children.”

(3) Where it appears to the Minister that a woman to whom an allowance has been granted under section 3, section 5 (a), section 5 (c), or section 6 of Part I of the Sixth Schedule of the Act of 1927 as amended by this section or under section 2, section 4 (a), section 4 (c), or section 5 of Part II of that Schedule or under section 3 of Part I of the Seventh Schedule to the Act of 1927 as amended by this section or under section 2 of Part II of that Schedule has been married since the commencement of such allowance or that a person to whom an allowance has been granted under section 5 (c) of Part I of the said Schedule or under section 4 (c) of Part II of the said Schedule has recovered, the Minister may reconsider and, if he thinks fit, reduce or terminate such allowance.