Police Injury Pensions

The request was successful.

Dear Kent Police,

I am making a request for information concerning the administration of police injury pensions.

When an injury pension is first granted (under Article 11 of the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006), or when an injury pension is reviewed (under Article 37-(1) of the Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006) a Selected Medical Practitioner (SMP) is required to decide the degree of disablement, or any alteration in degree of disablement, as appropriate.

The Regulations do not set out the method the SMP should use. However, the Home Office provided guidance in Part 5 of Guidance On Medical Appeals Under The Police Pensions Regulations 1987 And The Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006.

That guidance states, in Paragraph 9, 'The Regulations do not set out a specified procedure for assessing the degree of a person's disablement. The Administrative Court has, however, commented that the task in assessing earning capacity is to assess what the person is capable of doing and thus capable of earning. It is not a labour market assessment of whether somebody would actually pay that person to do what he or she is capable of doing, whether or not in competition with other workers. What follows here is the procedure suggested by the Home Office. This has no binding authority but it is the procedure which has been followed in most forces and by boards over recent years.'

I am requesting any documents that record whether or not your force SMP has at any time followed the procedure that is set out in the guidance.

If there are multiple documents, then, in order to keep this request as simple as possible, you may provide a list allowing ready identification of those documents together with a 'Yes' or 'No' answer to the question, 'Did your force SMP at any time follow the procedure set out in the Home Office Guidance On Medical Appeals Under The Police Pensions Regulations 1987 And The Police (Injury Benefit) Regulations 2006?'

If the answer is yes, or if you provide a document or documents that indicate the answer would be yes, then will you also inform me when this procedure was first brought into operation.

Yours faithfully,

John Jarman

Freedom of Information Freedom of Information,

2 Attachments

Dear Mr. Jarman,
 
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION REQUEST 12/01/73
 

Thank you for your request received by Kent Police on the 29 January
2012. I note you seek access, in summary, to the following information
relating to:

 

Whether a force Selected Medical Practitioner (SMP) has followed the
procedure set out in the Home Office Guidance On Medical Appeals Under The
Police Pensions Regulations 1987 And The Police (Injury Benefit)
Regulations 2006?'

 

As stated within the Freedom of Information Act 2000 we will endeavour to
provide a response promptly and in any event within the statutory
twenty day deadline, the twentieth working day being the 24 February 2012.

 

Your interest in Kent Police is appreciated and pending a specific
response to your request, I enclose a sheet, which summarises your
rights. Should you have any further inquiries concerning this matter,
please write or contact me on telephone number 01622 654413 quoting the
reference number above.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

Charlotte Pickin

 

Freedom of Information Team
Legal Services Department
Kent Police
Force HQ
Sutton Road
Maidstone
Kent ME15 9BZ

E-mail: [Kent Police request email]
Tel: +44 (0)1622 654429/654413
Fax: +44 (0)1622 652029
Internal: 19-4429/4413

Freedom of Information Freedom of Information,

2 Attachments

Dear Mr. Jarman,
 
With reference to the Freedom of Information Request that we received from
you on 29 January 2012 please find attached the response letter.
 
Should you have any queries relating to this then please do not hesitate
to contact me.
 
Many thanks
 
Charlotte Pickin
 
 
Freedom of Information Team
Legal Services Department
Kent Police
Force HQ
Sutton Road
Maidstone
Kent ME15 9BZ

E-mail: [Kent Police request email]
Tel: +44 (0)1622 654429/654413
Fax: +44 (0)1622 652029
Internal: 19-4429/4413

John Jarman left an annotation ()

Anyone who has an interest in, or a concern with, the maladministration of injury pensions by some forces and police authorities can find further information via these links:

PIPIN – a web site for disabled former officers
http://www.pipin.org.uk/

SCRIBD – a collection of documents relating to police injury pensions, including results of research conducted via Freedom of Information Act requests
http://www.scribd.com/wdtk

Pension.pen.io – a web site containing practical advice for former officers on injury pensions
http://www.injurypension.pen.io/

An article on Home Office Circular 46/2004 can be seen on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Office...