Payment of redress payment
Section 49: Period for which offer valid
136.In accordance with subsection (1), once a redress application has been determined and an offer is made under section 36, the applicant can accept the offer by signing and returning a waiver, or the applicant may request a review of the offer in the terms permitted by section 54.
137.If the applicant does neither of these things within the time period during which the offer remains valid, it will be treated as having been rejected (subsection (2)) unless the reason for the inaction is the applicant’s death and a nominated beneficiary then takes over the application.
138.The offer remains valid for a period of six months from the date it is received by the applicant (or such longer period as the panel determining the application may specify) (subsection (3)). As with other timescales which run from the date of receipt of something by the applicant, section 26(5) and (6) of ILRA provides for when an applicant is to be assumed to have received the thing. It should be noted that a review cannot necessarily be sought during the entirety of the period for which the offer is valid: the period for seeking a review is eight weeks, although late requests can be allowed if there is a good reason for any delay.
139.Subsections (4) and (5) make provision as regards the revival of an application in exceptional circumstances where the time period for acceptance has elapsed. Revival of an application would not revive any review rights in relation to it. In such a case, the appropriate course of action would be to seek a late review under section 54(5). However, revival may be appropriate where the applicant wishes to accept the offer but, for example, was unable to do so in time due to a period of hospitalisation.
Section 50: Acceptance of offer and making of payments
140.This section provides that an applicant becomes entitled to a redress payment once the offer of a redress payment is accepted and once the Scottish Ministers are satisfied that any relevant civil proceedings have been or will be abandoned. An offer is accepted by the applicant signing and returning a waiver or, where a waiver has previously been granted and a second waiver is not required because of the operation of section 46(2), by written notice (see paragraph 130 of these Notes). The payment will be made as a single payment, or in agreed instalments.
Section 51: Payments to children
141.This section applies to applicants who have been offered a redress payment and who are under the age of 18 years.
142.Subsection (2) allows a panel determining an application or a review to give directions relating to the payment and management of the redress payment for the benefit of the applicant, where considered appropriate.
143.Subsection (3) provides examples of the options Redress Scotland can consider when making a direction in relation to the payment or management of a redress payment for applicants under the age of 18. The options available to Redress Scotland include making the payment in instalments or retaining the payment until the applicant turns 18.
144.Subsection (4) makes further provision which applies where a direction has postponed the payment of the whole or part of the redress payment (for example, by directing that it should be paid in instalments). Where that is the case, applicants can ask for earlier payment of the whole or part of the redress payment. This means that the redress payment awarded to the applicant can be accessed earlier than provided for in the direction where appropriate. Further details on how this process will work in practice will be included in guidance.
145.Once the applicant reaches the age of 18, the whole of any remaining balance of the redress payment must be paid to the applicant, and paid in accordance with the provision for payment set out in section 50(3).
Section 52: Review of direction made under section 51
146.Section 52 allows an applicant to request a review of the panel’s decision in relation to any directions given under section 51(2).
147.In accordance with subsection (2), such a request must be made to the Scottish Ministers before the end of the period of eight weeks beginning with the date on which notice of the direction was received and be made in such form as the Scottish Ministers may require (and under subsection (5), the Scottish Ministers must publicise any requirements for the form the request is to take). The request must also specify why a review is being sought, and should contain or be accompanied by any other information the applicant considers relevant.
148.Subsection (3) states that the Scottish Ministers must provide the request and any accompanying information to Redress Scotland as soon as practicable. Subsection (4) permits Redress Scotland to conduct a review despite it not being requested within the timescale specified in subsection (2)(b), if it is satisfied that the applicant has a good reason for not requesting it sooner.
149.Subsection (6) applies sections 55 (review panels), 56 (procedure for reviews) and 59(1) to (5) (withdrawal of review request) to reviews under this section. However, any withdrawal of a request for a review can only happen before the review is determined under section 53.
Section 53: Outcome of a section 52 review
150.Subsection (1) sets out that a panel conducting a review under section 52 must consider whether the panel which gave the direction ought to have done so, and, where additional evidence is provided to or obtained by the panel conducting the review, whether the question of the direction to be given (if any) ought to be determined differently as a result. In either case, the review panel may uphold or reverse the original direction.
151.Subsection (2) requires the Scottish Ministers to notify the applicant of the review panel’s determination, and to provide the applicant with a summary of the panel’s reasons for reaching that determination.
152.In accordance with subsection (3), the determination of a review panel under this section is final. This means that there is no further right of appeal in respect of this decision.
