War Pensions Act 1921

4 Final awards

(1) Notwithstanding anything in any Warrant, Order in Council, or Order administered by the Minister, the Minister may, subject to the approval of the Treasury, make regulations providing for the making of final awards in the case of any officers or men to whom pensions in respect of disablement due to causes arising out of service during the present war have been granted or who claim such pensions, and prescribing the principles on which any such awards are to be made and the classes of pension to which this section is to apply.

(2) The case of every such officer and man as aforesaid shall, with a view to making a final award, be taken into consideration not later than four years after his discharge from the service or after the first award of a pension to him, as may be prescribed by regulations made under this section.

(3) If any person in whose case a final award has been made under this section is dissatisfied with the award, he may, at any time within one year from the date on which notice of the making of the award is given to him, appeal to a Pensions Appeal Tribunal established under section eight of the Act of 1919, and the Tribunal shall, if they are of opinion that, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, the final award ought not to have been made or that the proper amount of pension or proper rate of disablement was not fixed by the award, as the case may be, either set aside the award or increase or decrease the amount or rate so fixed as they think proper, and shall in any other case disallow the appeal:

Provided that—

(a) a Pensions Appeal Tribunal in exercising, their powers in relation to appeals under this section shall have regard to the provisions of, any regulations made under this section; and

(b) for the purpose of hearing appeals under this section the constitution of the Tribunal shall be modified by the substitution for the legal representative of a second medical practitioner having such qualifications as may be prescribed by regulations made under the Schedule to the Act of 1919, and that schedule shall have effect accordingly, and regulations may be made under that schedule with respect to appeals under this section.

The Minister shall, in such manner as may be prescribed by regulations made by him under this section, bring the provisions of this subsection to the notice of persons having a right of appeal thereunder.

(4) Where a grant of a permanent pension or of a gratuity or a final weekly allowance or an award (other than the grant of a conditional pension) has been made before the commencement of this Act, the grant or award shall for the purposes of this section be treated as a final award made thereunder, and this section shall apply accordingly with the substitution of one year from such date (not being earlier than the commencement of this Act) as may be fixed for the purposes of this subsection by regulations made under this section for one year from the date of notice of the award.