Appeal for Justice
This is an an important and heartfelt appeal to everyone who supports our police service.
This ruling affects EVERY force in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, every pensioner in receipt of an injury award, and EVERY serving officer who may find themselves, being injured on duty.
If you haven't already please read the main blog which explains this appeal in more detail please go here,
https://iodpa.org/2020/11/03/bad-law-appeal-for-justice/
This case is centered around the legal requirement, or obligations placed upon police officers that had previously retired through an injury on duty and were having the level of their injury pensions reviewed through The Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006.
Staffordshire Police who were conducting the reviews, demanded that the pensioners provide their full medical records from birth and other personal and private information via a questionnaire.
The officers contested that these demands were wholly excessive and breached their human rights as they weren't measured or proportionate to the purpose of the review.
Staffordshire Police invoked a punitive regulation (Reg 33) claiming that the pensioners had failed to comply with their demands despite the pensioners all attending a medical examination with a qualified doctor and providing medical evidence that their disability had not changed.
This pivotal case was finally heard on 15th and 16th July 2020 by Mr Justice Linden in the Administrative Court of England and Wales. His judgment was handed down on 16th September 2020.
You can read a copy of the judgment here -
Goodland, R (On the Application Of) v Chief Constable Of Staffordshire Police [2020] EWHC 2477 (Admin) (16 September 2020)
Unfortunately, the case was lost and the consequence of the judgment provides all police forces the ability to make unrestricted demands from all officers undergoing a review or they may face an incontestable financial penalty without the right of appeal.
We consider the judgment as bad law, which simply provides all police forces the ability to make unrestricted demands from these officers or face an incontestable financial penalty resulting in the loss of over £1,400 a month for some pensioners. The pensioners have been dropped to the lowest band without any "evidence or medical advice" to support the decision made by the Chief Constable.
The Injury on Duty Pensioners Association ('IODPA'), who supported those injured officers, funded the initial case, along with the Police Federation also making a substantial contribution, for which we are very grateful.
It is IODPA's intention to appeal the decision to the Court of Appeal, which will incur further costs for the charity.
We ask you to please consider making a donation to allow us to make this appeal on their behalf.
Donations can be a one off amount, payable through PayPal or Credit/Debit cards. It can be a one off donation, or you can set up a recurring donation paying a smaller amount on a regular basis.
All donations are a gift to the charity, and any unused monies will be retained for other future legal challenges that affect the wider membership of IODPA.
Thank you in advance for any amount that you can donate, large or small. It is much appreciated.
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