newsflash

Ex-PSNI officers win court battle over injury award refusal

IODPA Admin newsflash, PSNI, Review, Scoffield
PSNI

PSNITwo former PSNI officers have won a High Court battle over being refused enhanced injury awards.

A judge quashed a decision by the Northern Ireland Policing Board to reject independent medical assessments on the level of their disablement.

Mr Justice Scoffield held that the authority misdirected itself on the meaning of relevant regulations and signalled that both cases should be reconsidered.

The Policing Board’s Resources Committee considered the IMR reports but refused the appeals, stating that the process applied was not consistent with current guidance.

Lawyers for the two officers claimed the decision was unlawful and irrational.

Ruling on the challenge, Mr Justice Scoffield held there was an obligation on the Board to treat the relevant medical practitioner’s certificate as determinative and to give effect to those decisions.

As reported by: Belfast Telegraph – https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/courts/ex-psni-officers-win-court-battle-over-injury-award-refusal/1232935568.html

 

IODPA Member Commits To A 45 Mile Endurance Walk In 24 Hours

IODPA Admin newsflash
IODPA Member Commits To A 45 Mile Endurance Walk In 24 Hours

IODPA member Keith Henderson has committed to an endurance walking challenge to raise funds for two charities, IODPA and Prostate Cancer UK.

In a public post, this is what he wrote –

 

As some of you know, I had a crazy idea for a fundraiser. No one has tried to talk me out of it (some friends you are ).

45 MILES IN 24 HOURS – ENDURANCE WALK

Prostate Cancer UK & Injury on Duty Pensioners Association

ENDURANCE WALKING CHALLENGE FOR TWO CHARITIES

On Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 January 2022, I will be walking the Deeside Way from the Ballater Police Office, where I served as a young officer, to the old Police HQ in Aberdeen, a distance of 45 miles. The walk is non-stop and to be done within 24 hours. The Deeside Way roughly follows the old railway line that Queen Victoria used when travelling to Balmoral Castle.

Chuck in the January weather, lengthy night time walking, some navigation and the distance involved, it is a proper endurance event that will test me (I’m wrong side of a bus pass). I will be carrying my own kit, food and doing it ‘solo’ (no one else is walking the distance start to finish though friends have offered to accompany me for sections). All costs in arranging, travelling etc. are mine and every penny donated goes to the following charities.

Prostate Cancer UK www.prostatecanceruk.org

The first charity I am walking for is Prostate Cancer UK. It is very personal to me with both family and friends being affected by this illness. One in eight men will be diagnosed in their lifetime. Research, diagnosis, treatment and patient support all need funding.

They are having March for Men Endurance events from January to October 2022 and my walk is also in aid of this. Donations can be made here: www.justgiving.com/Keith-Henderson7

Injury On Duty Pensioners Association www.iodpa.org

No one wants to end their police career on ill-health. Unfortunately, many do, including me.

The Injury On Duty Pensioners Association is the only dedicated organisation that supports police officers who have been injured on duty through no fault of their own. Injuries can be mental, physical, and on occasions, both.

The IODPA advises officers, who are going through the ill health retirement process, are applying for an injury pension, or are having their pension award reviewed.

Decisions can be made by Forces that are detrimental to officers seeking an injury pension and the IODPA is there to give advice and assistance to overcome those problems.

The IODPA is a small charity and relies on membership and donations. Therefore a ‘crowd funding’ page is necessary on this occasion to take donations. The link is: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/keith-hendersoniodpa

Thank you for reading. I hope you can support me by donating to either charity.

Thanks, Keith Henderson

Everyone within IODPA wish Keith the very best for his challenge and we hope the weather stays kind to him! It is an incredible feat to do at any time but in the middle of winter takes it to a whole new level.

We are very humbled that Keith should choose us as one of his chosen charities and thank him from the bottom of our hearts.

If you can spare a pound or two, please consider supporting Keith.

Lloyd Kelly – The Court Of Appeal Confirms That Injury Pensions Should Be Back Dated With Interest

IODPA Admin newsflash, police injury award, Police Pension Authority, Uncategorized
Lloyd Kelly – The Court Of Appeal Confirms That Injury Pensions Should Be Back Dated With Interest

The Court of Appeal today handed down judgment in the case of Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police, R (On the Application Of) v Kelly & Anor [2021] EWCA Civ 1699 (19 November 2021)

Kelly 3

 

On the 5th June 2005, Mr Kelly was required to retire as a serving police officer due to permanent disablement from South Yorkshire Police. Whilst Mr Kelly was granted an ill-health pension, the force did not consider whether he was entitled to an injury pension under The Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006 due to the injury being caused on duty. They also did not inform him that he may make an application.

On the 25th July 2017, Mr Kelly became aware of injury pensions, and made an application, which was subsequently granted. South Yorkshire Police however only agreed to apply the pension from the date of the application rather from the date of retirement, a difference of 12 years worth of back pension.

The matter was heard twice, in the Crown Court, where Mr Kelly was successful. South Yorkshire appealed the matter to the Court of Appeal, who today handed down judgment in favour of Mr Kelly. The judgment agreed that Mr Kelly should be paid from the date of retirement and is also entitled to interest on his money.

You Have Until The 23rd June 2021 To Stop The NHS Sharing Your Data

IODPA Admin newsflash

The NHS has plans to scrape all your personal and medical data into a huge silo, which they plan to share (read sell) to commercial companies. The plan is to anonymise the data, so what could go wrong?

If you wish to stop your data leaving your own GP practice, you need to take positive action to prevent this from happening. You have until the 23rd June 2021 to do so.

Here are the methods by which you can opt out.

Opt-Out – hard copy form – https://nhs-prod.global.ssl.fastly.net/binaries/content/assets/website-assets/data-and-information/data-collections/general-practice-data-for-planning-and-research/type-1-opt-out-form.docx

National Data Opt-Out – hard copy form – https://assets.nhs.uk/nhsuk-cms/documents/Make_and_manage_your_choice_or_your_childs_choice_PDF_224kb.pdf

National Data Opt-Out – online form – https://your-data-matters.service.nhs.uk/

Home Office Consultation On Regulation 12 Of The Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006

IODPA Admin newsflash, regulation 12
Home Office Consultation On Regulation 12 Of The Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006

In 2020, following a successful claim by Ron Thompson of Haven Solicitors and David Lock QC of Landmark Chambers, the Government agreed a discretionary payment equal to a regulation 12 settlement for one of their clients.

It was accepted that regulation 12, being time limited to 12 months from the date of receiving an injury on duty was potentially discriminatory against officers whose injuries only manifested to total and permanent disablement some time later. This is particularly relevant to those who suffered a mental health injury.

As part of the settlement, the Home Office agreed to consult further on the issue, and has now released a public consultation paper, which we’ve reproduced here.

If you feel as though you have something positive to contribute to the debate, you may complete the online form found here –

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/regulation-12-of-the-police-injury-benefit-regulations-2006.

 

_Consultation_document.__The_12-month_rule_in_regulation_12_of_the_Police__Injury_Benefit__Regulations_2006

 

Essex Police To Recommence Injury Reviews

IODPA Admin newsflash
Essex Police To Recommence Injury Reviews

It appears that Essex Police intend to recommence injury pension reviews from April of this year. The official decision can be found here –

https://www.essex.police.uk/foi-ai/essex-police/lists-and-registers/essex-police-pension-board/essex-police-pension-board-scheme-manager-notice-to-injury-benefit-pensioners/

A briefing note can be found here –

https://www.essex.police.uk/foi-ai/essex-police/lists-and-registers/essex-police-pension-board/essex-police-pension-board-degree-of-disablement-assessment-regulation-37-briefing-note-to-pensioners/

There is also an example letter –

https://www.essex.police.uk/foi-ai/essex-police/lists-and-registers/essex-police-pension-board/essex-police-pension-board-degree-of-disablement-assessment-letter-to-pensioners/

There are 272 Essex pensioners that are in receipt of an injury pension. We would urge those pensioners that are not IODPA members to make contact with us.

The Government publish update to the transitional arrangements for the PPR 2015

IODPA Admin newsflash
The Government publish update to the transitional arrangements for the PPR 2015

The Government have released a new response to the fiasco that is the enforced transfer to The Police Pension Regulations 2015 of a large number of serving officers that were previously on The Police Pension Regulations 1987, or The Police Pension Regulations 2006.

If you have been following the case, you will know that the Government lost an appeal by the Fire Brigades Union Over a similar scheme.

 

The paper, signed off by RT HON STEVE BARCLAY MP,  Chief Secretary to the Treasury, proposed

…the introduction of a ‘deferred choice underpin’ (DCU) as the way to remedy the identified discrimination. This approach
will enable eligible members, when they retire with a pension, to choose whether the legacy or reformed schemes would be better for them for the period between 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022.

 

It is clear that the Government intend to reintroduce the scheme (or similar) on 1 April 2022, at which point every serving officer will transfer.

In the meantime, serving officers who have retired, or who will retire between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2022, will have the choice as to whether they wish to receive benefits from the relevant legacy scheme or to instead receive the benefits that would have been available from the 2015 scheme.

Those who have already retired and/or received a pension award will be offered a choice as soon as practicable after necessary legislative and process changes can be made.

 

Here is the document –

Public_Sector_Pensions_Consultation_Response

New Emergency Lounge Calculator

IODPA Admin newsflash
New Emergency Lounge Calculator

Many of our members, have over a period of time, used the free pension calculator on the Emergency Lounge site, which can be found here – http://emergencylounge.com/police/pension_calculator/

The site has been a long supporter of IODPA, and we have been working together to bring their calculator up to date which originally only catered for calculations under The Police Pension Regulations 1987. It now caters for calculations across multiple schemes including part-time working and is undoubtedly the best calculator available.

With the Home Office indicating that those who were forced onto the 2015 pension scheme, will be given the option to switch back to their original scheme, it is important that members understand the financial implications of doing so. We’ve had no indication that pension departments will provide these calculations for you in a timely manner.

It is important to note, as stated on the Emergency Lounge site, that the calculations are for illustration purposes only, and that official figures should be obtained before making any financial decisions, but they will provide you with an accurate prediction.

We’ve been beta testing this new calculator for the site, but if you find any problems with it, please let us know, or the site directly.

The Home Office Release a Consultation Paper Over the Unlawful Application Of The Police Pension Regulations 2015

IODPA Admin Home Office, newsflash
The Home Office Release a Consultation Paper Over the Unlawful Application Of The Police Pension Regulations 2015

The Home Office have released a consultation document providing remedies and a way forward over the age-discrimination issues that came out of the forced imposition of the Police Pension Regulations 2015.

In summary, it appears as though the HO is proposing that all legacy schemes for affected public sector workers will come to an end on 1st April 2022. Those already affected (transferred) will have the option to transfer back until this new date.

You can find a copy of the paper here –

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/900766/Public_Service_Pensions_Consultation.pdf

Or read it below,

Public_Service_Pensions_Consultation

 

It seems that the proposals will not be without issue as contribution rates are different, some officers will have already retired under the new scheme with multiple pension pots, and there could be further appeals regarding ill-health retirement.

David Lock QC from Landmark Chambers has produced a blog on the issue, which can be found here,

Government publishes consultation document on resolving £17billion problem of age-discrimination in public sector pensions