National Insurance Act 1965

68 Submission of claims and questions to insurance officers.

(1) Insurance officers for the purposes of this Act shall be appointed by the Minister, subject to the consent of the Treasury as to number, to act for such areas or otherwise as the Minister directs, and may include officers of the Ministry of Labour appointed with the concurrence of the Minister of Labour and officers of the National Assistance Board appointed with the concurrence of that Board.

(2) Any claim for benefit under this Act and any question to which section 67(1) of this Act applies shall be submitted forthwith to an insurance officer, who shall take the claim or question into consideration and, so far as practicable, dispose of it in accordance with this section and any regulations under section 75(2) of this Act within fourteen days of its submission to him.

(3) Subject to section 71 of this Act, the insurance officer may in the case of any claim or question so submitted to him—

(a) decide it in favour of the claimant; or

(b) decide it adversely to the claimant; or

(c) refer it to a local tribunal.

(4) Where an insurance officer refers a case to a local tribunal in accordance with subsection (3)(c) of this section, notice in writing of the reference shall be given to the claimant.

(5) Different aspects of the same claim or question may be submitted to different insurance officers under the foregoing provisions of this section, and for that purpose those provisions and the other provisions of this Part of this Act with respect to the determination of claims and questions shall have effect subject to any necessary modifications.