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United Kingdom Statutory Instruments


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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS


2006 No. 3434

FIRE AND RESCUE SERVICES, ENGLAND

PENSIONS, ENGLAND

The Firefighters' Compensation Scheme (England) (Amendment) Order 2006

  Made 19th December 2006 
  Laid before Parliament 4th January 2007 
  Coming into force 25th January 2007 

This Order is made in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 34 and 60 of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004[1].

     Before making this Order, and in accordance with section 34(5) of that Act, the Secretary of State consulted such persons as she considered appropriate.

     The Secretary of State makes the following Order:

Citation, commencement and interpretation
     1. —(1) This Order may be cited as the Firefighters' Compensation Scheme (England) (Amendment) Order 2006 and shall come into force on 25th January 2007, but the amendments made by article 2 shall have effect from 6th April 2006.

    (2) In this Order "the Compensation Scheme" means the Scheme set out in Schedule 1 to the Firefighters' Compensation Scheme (England) Order 2006[
2].

Amendment of the Firefighters' Compensation Scheme (England) Order 2006
     2. Schedule 1 to the Firefighters' Compensation Scheme (England) Order 2006 is amended in accordance with the Schedule to this Order.

General transitional provision
    
3. —(1) Where a person to whom a protected benefit was being paid or might become payable under the Compensation Scheme is placed in a worse position than he would have been in if the Scheme had continued to have effect without the amendments made by article 2, he may, by giving written notice to the fire and rescue authority liable or prospectively liable for payment of the benefit, elect that the provisions of the Scheme, in the form in which they existed immediately before the coming into force of this Order, shall continue to have effect in relation to the benefit.

    (2) Notice under paragraph (1) must be given not later than 31st March 2007.

    (3) For the purposes of paragraph (1), a protected benefit is one paid, or capable of becoming payable, to or in respect of a person who, before the coming into force of this Order, ceased to be employed by an English fire and rescue authority or died.

Transitional provision: decisions and determinations
    
4. —(1) The amendments made by article 2 shall not have effect in relation to a person in respect of whom a determination or decision relevant to whether permanent disablement has been occasioned by a qualifying injury (within the meaning of rule 7 of Part 1 of the Compensation Scheme) has been made before the coming into force of this Order.

    (2) In a case to which paragraph (1) applies, the provisions of the Compensation Scheme, in the form in which they existed immediately before the coming into force of this Order, shall continue to have effect in relation to such a person.



Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government


Phil Woolas
Minister of State Department for Communities and Local Government

19th December 2006



SCHEDULE
Article 2


AMENDMENTS TO THE FIREFIGHTERS' COMPENSATION SCHEME (ENGLAND) 2006


     1. In Part 1 (general provisions)—

     2. In Part 2 (injury awards and duty-related compensation)—

     3. In Part 3 (awards on death: spouses and civil partners)—

     4. In Part 4 (awards on death: children), in rule 3 (child's special allowance or gratuity: limitations), for paragraphs (2) to (7), substitute—

     5. In Part 5 (awards on death: additional provisions)—

     6. In Part 7 (servicemen)—

     7. After Part 7, insert—



     8. In Part 8 (special cases)—

     9. In Part 9 (review, withdrawal and forfeiture of awards)—

     10. In Part 10 (payment of awards and financial provisions)—

     11. —(1) In Schedule 1 (injury awards and duty-related compensation), in Part 1 (calculation of awards for full-time service)—

     12. In Schedule 1, in Part 2 (calculation of awards for part-time service), in paragraph 2—

     13. In Schedule 1, after Part 2 insert—



     14. In Schedule 2 (awards for spouses and civil partners), in Part 1 (special pension)—

     15. In Schedule 2, for Part 2 (award for surviving spouse or civil partner of post-retirement marriage or civil partnership) substitute—



     16. In Schedule 3 (awards on death: children)—

     17. In Schedule 4 (awards on death: additional provisions), after "average pensionable pay" (in each place), insert "or, as the case may be, his final pensionable pay".

     18. After Schedule 6, insert—





EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)


This Order amends provisions of the Firefighters' Compensation Scheme set out in Schedule 1 to S.I. 2006/1811 ("the compensation scheme"). The amendments made by article 2 of this Order have effect from 6th April 2006. The power to provide for an order to have effect from a date that is earlier than that on which it is made is conferred by section 34(3) of the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004.

Articles 3 and 4 of the Order contain transitional provisions. Article 3 enables a person whose position would be less favourable under the amended version of the Scheme to elect to retain benefits under the unamended version. Notice of election has to be given to the fire and rescue authority before 31st March 2007. Article 4 provides for the compensation scheme in its unamended form to continue to apply in relation to decisions and determinations made before the coming into force of this Order as to whether permanent disablement has been caused by a "qualifying injury" as defined in rule 7 of Part 1 of the compensation scheme.

Subject to one exception, the amendments are consequential on the introduction of a new pension scheme for firefighters employed by fire and rescue authorities in England (the New Firefighters' Pension Scheme (England), set out in Schedule 1 to S.I. 2006/3432).

The exception relates to the amendment made by paragraph 8(a)(ii) of the Schedule to this Order. It corrects an error in rule 1(4)(a) of Part 8 of the compensation scheme by substituting "rule" for "paragraph".

The main effects of the amendments made by this Order are that—

A full regulatory impact assessment has not been produced for this Order, as it has no impact on the costs of business, charities or voluntary bodies.

An informal composite version of the compensation scheme (incorporating the amendments made by this Order) may be accessed on the Department for Communities and Local Government's website:
www.dclg.gov.uk/firepensions


Notes:

[1] 2004 c.21. The powers conferred by sections 34 and 60 are, in relation to Wales, vested in the National Assembly for Wales by virtue of section 62 of that Act.back

[2] S.I. 2006/1811.back

[3] S.I. 1992/129, amended by S.I. 1997/2309 and 2851, 1998/1010, 2001/3649 and 3691, 2004/1912 and 2006/1810 and 3433. The Scheme was made under section 26 of the Fire Services Act 1947 (c.41). That Act was repealed by section 52 of, and Schedule 2 to, the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 (c.21). Subsections (1) to (5) of section 26 were continued in force, for the purposes of the scheme established under that section as the Firemen's Pension Scheme, by S.I. 2004/2306. The name of the scheme was changed, in relation to England and Scotland, by article 4(1) of S.I. 2004/2306.back

[4] S.I. 2006/3432.back

[5] Set out in Schedule 1 to the Firefighters' Pension Scheme (England) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/3432).back

[6] 2004 c.12. As to "the lump sum death benefit rule", see section 168 of , and Part 2 of Schedule 29 to, that Act.back

[7] 1951 c.65.back

[8] Rule B5 was substituted by S.I. 2006/3433, Schedule, para 3.back

[9] Rule B9 of the 1992 Scheme was amended by S.I. 2005/2980, Sch, para 19 and S.I. 2005/3228, Sch 1, para 2.back

[10] Rule IA1 was inserted by S.I. 2001/3691.back

[11] Rule J1 was amended by S.I. 2005/2980, Sch, para 66 and S.I. 2005/3228, Sch 1, para 26.back

[12] See the definition of "pensionable retained service" inserted in rule 2(1) of the Compensation Scheme by paragraph 1(a) of the Schedule to this Order.back



ISBN 0 11 075572 3


 © Crown copyright 2006

Prepared 4 January 2007


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