Inspector Dave Lockyear
Information Access Manager
Information Management Services
Ms N McCall
[email address]
[FOI #6847 email]
Direct line
Direct fax
020 7601 2279
020 7601 2088
Your ref:
Our ref:
31 March 2009
Dear Ms McCall
REQUEST FOR INFORMATION REF: COL/09/50
I write in connection with your request for information dated 29 January 2009 in which you
seek access to the following information:
1. I am requesting certain documents that you may have detailing force policy and
procedure in the management and review of police injury award pensions prior to the
year 2004.
To help you in your search and to direct my enquiry as clearly as possible I am
quoting below a paragraph from Home Office Circular 46/2004, Annex C:
'This Guidance is being issued to help ensure a fairer, more cohesive approach to
the payment of injury benefits to ill-health retired officers who have reached the
compulsory retirement age with their Force. A recent survey found that practice in
this area was diverse. Some forces automatically reduced degree of disablement
benefits to the lowest banding when this age had been reached - others continued to
pay benefits at the same rate until the death of the Officer concerned.'
The above quote identifies two categories of forces - A) one group that automatically
reduced degree of disablement benefits to the lowest banding when compulsory
retirement age had been reached and a second group B) that continued to pay
benefits at the same rate until the death of the Officer concerned.
I am attempting to identify and obtain a copy of documents that show which category
(A or B) your force would have been included in prior to receipt of HOC 46/2004.
It may be that your response would be sufficient if you simply tell me which group
your force was in, but if there was a written policy or procedural document setting out
details, then I should like a copy.
Wood Street Police Station
PO Box 36427, 37 Wood Street, London EC2M 2NP
Tel 020 7601 2279
Textphone 020 7601 2906
www.cityoflondon.police.uk
Cont/ …
We have been unable to identify any written policy relating to the payment of injury
award pensions prior to the year 2004. In order to establish if the policy of this force
was in line with category A or B, it would be necessary to establish if any injury award
pensions had been reduced prior to the year 2004. Extracting this information would
require a manual search of the personnel record of each officer that received a
pension prior to 2004. The cost of completing this work would exceed the prescribed
limit and it has not therefore been done.
The following additional information is provided outside the provisions of the
Freedom of Information Act.
Injury award pensions were reviewed in accordance with guidance provided by the
Force Medical Advisor based on the individual circumstances of each retired officer.
We are unaware of any reduction in pension rate having been made prior to 2004 but
please note that no member of staff that currently deals with pensions was in post
prior to 2004 and the accuracy of this information cannot be guaranteed.
Please accept my apologies for the delay in replying to your request. Should you have any
further questions, please contact me via e-mail, letter or telephone, quoting the reference
number above.
Yours sincerely
Inspector Dave Lockyear
Information Access Manager
Wood Street Police Station
PO Box 36427, 37 Wood Street, London EC2M 2NP
Tel 020 7601 2279
Textphone 020 7601 2906
www.cityoflondon.police.uk
Document Outline
