OpenLegislation

The War Pensions Committees Regulations 2000

S.I. 2000/3180 · Made 1 December 2000 · Extends to United Kingdom

Up to date with all changes known to legislation.gov.uk, revised to 15 December 2017.

PENSIONS

Made 1st December 2000

Laid before Parliament 8th December 2000

Coming into force 1st January 2001

The Secretary of State for Social Security, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 25 and 29 of the Social Security Act 1989f1 and section 175(2) to (5) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992f2, and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Annotations to the whole text

Footnotes

f1

1989 c. 24. Section 29 was amended by the Social Security (Consequential Provisions) Act 1992 c. 6, section 4 and Schedule 2 paragraph 106.

f2

1992 c. 4.

Contents

  1. 1Citation, commencement and interpretation
  2. 2Revocation of regulations and abolition of existing committees
  3. 3Committees for England
  4. 4Committee for Wales
  5. 5Committee for Northern Ireland
  6. 6Committees for Scotland
  7. 7Membership, constitution, proceedings, etc of committees
  8. 8Functions of a committee
  9. 9Recommendations and representations
  10. Signature
  11. Schedule 1COMMITTEES IN ENGLAND
  12. Schedule 2: PROCEEDINGS, ETC. OF COMMITTEES
  13. MEMBERS
  14. 1Paragraph 1
  15. 2Paragraph 2
  16. 3Paragraph 3
  17. 4Paragraph 4
  18. CHAIRMAN AND VICE-CHAIRMAN
  19. 5Paragraph 5
  20. 6Paragraph 6
  21. 7Paragraph 7
  22. 8Paragraph 8
  23. 9Paragraph 9
  24. PROCEEDINGS
  25. 10Paragraph 10
  26. 11Paragraph 11
  27. 12Paragraph 12
  28. 13Paragraph 13
  29. 14Paragraph 14
  30. 15Paragraph 15
  31. 16Paragraph 16
  32. SUB-COMMITTEES
  33. 17Paragraph 17
  34. 18Paragraph 18
  35. 19Paragraph 19
  36. 20Paragraph 20
  37. 21Paragraph 21
  38. 22Paragraph 22
  39. 23Paragraph 23
  40. Explanatory note

1Citation, commencement and interpretationI1

(1)

These Regulations may be cited as the War Pensions Committees Regulations 2000, and shall come into force on 1st January 2001.

(2)

In these Regulations—

  • “committee” means a war pensions committee or, where the context so requires, the war pensions committee for the relevant area;

  • “member” means member of a committee or, where the context so requires, a member of the relevant committee; F1...

  • F2“surviving spouse” means a widow or widower in receipt of a war pension; and

  • F3“surviving civil partner” means a surviving civil partner in receipt of a war pension.

(3)

Any reference to Schedule 1 or to Schedule 2 is a reference to the Schedule so numbered in these Regulations, and any reference to the area of a committee is a reference to the area for which the committee is established pursuant to regulation 3, 4, 5 or 6.

2Revocation of regulations and abolition of existing committeesI1

The following Regulations are hereby revoked:

  • The War Pensions Committees Regulations 1990f1;

  • The War Pensions Committees (Amendment) Regulations 1995f2; and

  • The War Pensions Committees (Amendment) Regulations 1996f3,

and the committees established and operated thereunder shall be abolished.

3Committees for EnglandI1

In England, there shall be established for each group of local government areas specified in column 1 of Schedule 1 a committee bearing the name specified in respect of that group in column 2.

4Committee for WalesI1

There shall be established for Wales a committee named the F1Wales Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee (Pwyllgor Cynghori a Pensiynau Cyn-filwyr Cymru).

5Committee for Northern IrelandI1

There shall be established for Northern Ireland a committee named the F1Northern Ireland Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee.

6Committees for ScotlandI1

In Scotland, there shall be established for each group of local government areas specified in column 1 of the following Table a committee bearing the name specified in respect of that group in column 2—

TABLE

1.2.
Group comprising—Name of committee
City of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Angus, The Borders, Clackmannan, City of Dundee, City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, Fife, Highland, East Lothian, Midlothian, West Lothian, Moray, Orkney Islands, Perthshire and Kinross, Shetland Islands, F1... Western Isles.East Scotland F2Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee.
Argyll and Bute, East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dumbarton and Clydebank, East Dunbartonshire, City of Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire F3, Stirling.West Scotland Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee.

7Membership, constitution, proceedings, etc of committeesI1

(1)

Each committee shall consist of not fewer than 12 nor more than 20 members who shall be appointed by the Secretary of State.

(2)

The provisions of Schedule 2 shall have effect with respect to committees.

8Functions of a committeeI1

(1)

In its area, a committee shall—

(a)

enable and foster local consultation by the Secretary of State on issues affecting war F1pensioners, F2surviving spouses, surviving civil partners or AFCS benefit recipients;

(b)

help to increase awareness about war pensions F3and AFCS benefits;

F4(c)

support the F5Veterans UK by monitoring its welfare service, raising awareness of the service it provides and liaising with other organisations with a view to ensuring that the welfare needs of F6war pensioners, surviving spouses, surviving civil partners, AFCS benefit recipients and their dependants are suitably addressed; and

(d)

assist war F7pensioners, F8surviving spouses, surviving civil partners, AFCS benefit recipients and others claiming war pensions or AFCS benefits with any problem or complaint regarding F9war pensions, AFCS benefits or the welfare services provided by F10Veterans UK.

(2)

In its area, a committee may, in particular—

(a)

assist any individual F11claiming or receiving a war pension or AFCS benefit in pursuing any problem or complaint mentioned in paragraph (1)(d);

(b)

make representations and recommendations to the Secretary of State about any problem or complaint mentioned in paragraph (1)(d);

(c)

report F12or make recommendations to the Secretary of State on any matter arising pursuant to its functions under paragraph (1); and

(d)

receive and disburse funds from charitable or other sources for the sole purpose of provision of social activities for war F13pensioners, F14surviving spouses, surviving civil partners and AFCS benefit recipients.

(3)

Where funds are received as mentioned in paragraph (2)(d), the committee shall keep proper accounts of all receipts and disbursements, and it shall provide a copy of those accounts to the Secretary of State as soon as is practicable after:

(a)

the end of each financial year; and

(b)

at any other time, on receipt of a written request from the Secretary of State.

F15(4)

In this regulation “Veterans UK” means an office designated by the Secretary of State for the purpose of receiving and determining claims for war pensions and AFCS benefits.

9Recommendations and representationsI1

Any recommendations or representations which a committee makes to the Secretary of State shall be by way of a resolution submitted to him.

Signature

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Social Security.

Hugh Bayley

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,

Department of Social Security

1st December 2000

Schedule 1COMMITTEES IN ENGLANDI1

F1Table

COMMITTEES IN ENGLAND

Column 1Column 2
Group comprisingName of committee
The counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk; and the non-metropolitan districts of Luton, Peterborough, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock.Eastern F2Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee.
Greater LondonLondon Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee.
The counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire; and the non-metropolitan districts of Derby, Leicester, Nottingham and Rutland.East Midlands Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee.
The counties of Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire; and the metropolitan districts of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton; and the non-metropolitan districts of Herefordshire, Stoke-on-Trent and Telford and Wrekin.West Midlands Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee.
The counties of Durham and Northumberland; the metropolitan districts of Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Sunderland; and the non-metropolitan districts of Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton-on-Tees.North East Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee.
The counties of Cheshire, Cumbria and Lancashire; the metropolitan districts of Bolton, Bury, Knowsley, Liverpool, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, St Helens, Salford, Sefton, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan and Wirral; and the non-metropolitan districts of Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Halton and Warrington.North West Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee.
The counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex; and the non-metropolitan districts of Bracknell Forest, Brighton and Hove, the Medway Towns, Milton Keynes, Portsmouth, Reading, Slough, Southampton, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead and Wokingham.South East Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee.
The counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire; the non-metropolitan districts of Bath and North East Somerset, Bournemouth, Bristol, North Somerset, Plymouth, Poole, South Gloucestershire, Swindon and Torbay; and the Isles of Scilly.South West Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee.
The county of North Yorkshire; the metropolitan districts of Barnsley, Bradford, Calderdale, Doncaster, Kirklees, Leeds, Rotherham, Sheffield and Wakefield; and the non-metropolitan districts of the East Riding of Yorkshire, Kingston upon Hull, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire and York.Yorkshire and Humber Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee.

1I1

Subject to paragraphs 2 and 3, a member shall hold office for a period not exceeding 3 years in any term of appointment, and may be re-appointed.

2I1

A member may resign from a committee by notice in writing sent to the Secretary of State.

3I1

The Secretary of State may remove a member from office if he has reasonable grounds to believe that the member is unable, unfit or unsuitable to discharge the functions of a member.

4I1

The Secretary of State may, subject to regulation 7(1), appoint a new member at any time, whether to fill a casual vacancy or otherwise.

5I1

The Secretary of State shall appoint a Chairman for each committee. The appointment shall be in writing, and shall specify the term of office, which shall not exceed the appointee’s term as a member. A Chairman may be re-appointed.

6I1

The power in paragraph 5 is exercisable both on the establishment of a committee and to fill any vacancy arising thereafter.

7I1

The committee shall elect a Vice-Chairman from among their number, who shall hold office for such period (not exceeding the appointee’s term as a member) as the committee by resolution determines.

8I1

An election of a Vice-Chairman shall be conducted by ballot.

9I1

The following shall preside over any committee meeting—

(a)

the Chairman; or

(b)

in the Chairman’s absence, the Vice-Chairman,

but if neither of those officers is present, the members present shall elect one of their number to act as Chairman for the purposes of that meeting only.

10I1

The committee shall hold a meeting at least twice a year.

11I1

The Secretary of State shall decide the time and place of the first meeting of each committee. Thereafter, each committee shall decide the time and place of its meetings.

12I1

One-third of the members may requisition a meeting by giving written notice to the Chairman, who shall call the meeting within 4 weeks of receipt of the notice.

13I1

The quorum of a committee shall be one quarter of its members, disregarding any fractions, or 4 members, whichever is the greater.

14I1

Subject to paragraph 8, a committee shall make decisions by a simple majority of members present and voting. In the event of equality of votes, the person presiding over the meeting shall have a casting vote.

15I1

Minutes of a meeting shall:

(a)

be recorded in a minute book;

(b)

include the names of members present at the meeting;

(c)

be signed by the person presiding at the meeting at which those minutes are approved as correct; and

(d)

be open to inspection by the Secretary of State.

16I1

An official of the Secretary of State may attend any meeting of any committee as an observer.

17I1

A committee may, from among its members, appoint a sub-committee to assist the committee in carrying out any of its functions.

18I1

A sub-committee shall consist of no fewer than 3 members and no more than four fifths of the total number of members.

19I1

The committee shall appoint from among its number a Chairman for the sub-committee. The Chairman for the sub-committee shall preside over any sub-committee meeting, but in the Chairman’s absence the members of the sub-committee present shall elect one of their number to act as Chairman for the purposes of that meeting only.

20I1

Decisions of the sub-committee shall be by a simple majority of the sub-committee members present and voting, and in the event of equality of votes the Chairman of the sub-committee shall have a casting vote.

21I1

Paragraphs 15 and 16 shall apply to any meeting of a sub-committee.

22I1

A sub-committee shall act in accordance with any directions of the committee.

23I1

A sub-committee which considers a complaint made to the committee by a person receiving or claiming a war pension shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, submit to the committee a report of any hearing it has held into the complaint together with a copy of any representations it has made to the Secretary of State.

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make changes to the constitution and functions of war pensions committees. Such committees were established by regulations pursuant to section 25 of the Social Security Act 1989. Existing committees are abolished and new ones set up. Except in the case of Northern Ireland (for which there continues to be one committee), the new committees generally cover larger areas, and they are fewer in number. There is one committee for Wales (regulation 4), one for Northern Ireland (regulation 5) and two for Scotland (regulation 6). Nine regional committees are set up for England (regulation 3 and Schedule 1).

Regulation 7 and Schedule 2 provide for the appointment of committee members, and for constitution and proceedings of committees, and regulation 8 sets out a committee’s functions.

These Regulations do not impose a charge on business.