Office of Public Sector Information

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Armed Forces and Reserve Forces (Compensation Scheme) Order 2005 (“the Scheme”) which provides for benefits to be payable to or in respect of a person by reason of that person’s illness, injury (whether physical or mental) or death, which is caused (wholly or partly) by service in the armed forces or the reserve forces.

This Order amends the Scheme by increasing the amount of a lump sum award which is payable for a claim determined or revised on or after 15th December 2008 and also by providing for a new form of benefit to be paid.

Article 10 inserts new articles 15C and 15D into the Scheme. Article 15C provides for the payment of a new form of benefit – the additional lump sum. This new benefit will, in general, be paid to any claimant who has been awarded a lump sum or additional multiple injury lump sum before 15th December 2008. The amount of the additional lump sum is determined by calculating the amount of benefit that would have been awarded had the amounts in the table in article 15C(6) been applied (in place of the actual amounts applied) and then deducting from that sum the amount of benefit previously awarded. There is an overall cap on the total amount that can be awarded under this article in respect of one or more injuries sustained in one incident (taking into account previous awards of benefit applicable to the injury or injuries) of £570,000. A recipient of the additional lump sum will, once all the awards of benefit are added together, receive the same amount as a claimant who has their award assessed according to the new amounts in the version of Table 10 of Schedule 4 to the Scheme as substituted by article 19. Only one award of additional lump sum will be made for a qualifying injury. If the award for the qualifying injury is later revised it will be calculated according to the new higher amounts in the version of table 10 substituted by article 19 of this Order (see article 13(b) of the Scheme).

Article 15D provides for an exception to the general entitlement to an additional lump sum. This is where an award of benefit has been determined before 15th December 2008 but on or after that date and before any additional lump sum award has actually been paid, the award of benefit is then increased or revised. The new Table 10 will be applied to the new calculation and hence the claimant will automatically receive a higher award. In such a case no additional lump sum will then be awarded.

Article 19 inserts a new version of Table 10 of Schedule 4 to the Scheme. This sets the amounts payable as a lump sum by reference to the tariff level applicable to the injury. The new amounts will be applied to all claims determined or revised on or after 15th December 2008 (see article 13(b) of the Scheme).

In some cases an award may be revised after an additional lump sum has been paid. The calculation of a revised award will be by reference to the new higher amounts specified in table 10. In calculating the amount due for the revised award account will be taken of both the earlier awards of benefit and the award of additional lump sum and only the difference between the total of those amounts and of the revised amounts will be paid. This is expressly achieved by amendments to articles 15, 15A, 19, 44, 45, 47, 48 and 49.

Articles 7(b), 8(a) and 9(a) amend articles 15(6A)(b), 15A(1)(b) and 15B(1)(b) and (c) respectively in order to insert the specific date that S.I. 2008/39 came into force.

Article 12 amends article 37 of the Scheme with the result that a claim is not required for an additional lump sum award to be made: the Secretary of State will automatically consider and notify claimants of any entitlement under the new provision.

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