A recent decision in the case of HAWORTH has confirmed that there is no ‘time limit’ in relation to a request for a reconsideration of an injury award decision and that Police Authorities should give due cognisance of the merits of the request before deciding not to agree such a request on merely time delay or reasons of cost.
His Honour Mr Justice KING at paragraph 96 opined:
“…regulation 32(2) should be construed as a free standing mechanism as part of the system of checks and balances in the regulations to ensure that the pension award, either by way of an initial award or on a review to the former police officer by either the SMP or PMAB, has been determined in accordance with the regulations and that the retired officer is being paid the sum to which he is entitled under the regulations. It must be the overall policy of the scheme that the award of pension reflects such entitlement and I see no reason why regulation 32(2) should be construed simply as a mechanism to correct mistakes which might nonetheless be able to be corrected by some other means.”
He goes on to opine at Paragraph 97:
“In other words I am persuaded that in the light of the statutory scheme as a whole, there is no reason not to construe regulation 32(2) as in part a mechanism (and indeed an important mechanism) to correct mistakes either as to fact or as to law which have or may have resulted in an officer being paid less than his full entitlement under the regulations, which cannot otherwise be put right, which is this case.”
In paragraph 104 His Honour Mr Justice King opined:
“First and foremost in failing to have any regard to the underlying merits of the claimant’s application, and in refusing consent regardless of the strength of these merits, this was a decision not in accordance with the statutory purpose for which in my judgment the discretionary power under regulation 32(2) was given, namely as a mechanism whereby mistakes in the determination and assessment of pension entitlement under the regulations can be corrected in particular where they cannot otherwise be put right, and one which thwarted or ran counter to the policy and objects of the statutory scheme, namely that a former police officer permanently disabled in the execution of his duty through no fault of his own should be paid the full pension to which he is entitled under the regulations.”
Use the link for the full judgement of the Haworth case:
Judgement in the case of Haworth v Northumbria Police Authority