The National Health Service (Scotland) (Injury Benefits) Amendment Regulations 2013

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the National Health Service (Scotland) (Injury Benefits) Regulations 1998 (“the 1998 Regulations”) as follows:

• regulation 3 amends regulation 3(1) so that the 1998 Regulations will apply only to a person who, while in relevant employment, sustains a relevant injury or contracts a relevant disease before 31st March 2013;

• regulation 4(2) amends regulation 4(1) to make it clear that all injury benefit claims must be made in accordance with regulation 18A;

• regulation 4(3), (5), (6) and (8) amends regulation 4(2), (3), (4) and (5) so that the provisions for temporary injury allowance, partial and full permanent injury benefits and permanent injury benefits in relation to an injury sustained or a disease contracted before 31st March 2013 continue to apply from 31st March 2013 to 30th March 2018;

• regulation 4(4), (5), (7) and (9) insert paragraphs (2A) to (2C), (3A) to (3E), (4A), (4B) and (5A) to (5D) into regulation 4 so that the provisions for temporary injury allowance, partial and full permanent injury benefits and permanent injury benefits in relation to an injury sustained or a disease contracted before 31st March 2013 continue to apply from 31st March 2018 to 30th March 2038. However, during this period, the claimant must provide compelling evidence: evidence is compelling if it is reliable, its value is substantial and it is highly probative of the claim (regulation 4(12));

• regulation 4(10) amends regulation 4(6)(b) to add an injury allowance payable after 30th March 2013 in accordance with a person’s terms and conditions of employment, and regulation 4(12) inserts a definition of “injury allowance”;

• regulation 4(11) inserts regulation 4(6A) to make it clear that a benefit to which a claimant is entitled and which would normally be taken into account when calculating the amount of injury benefit payable, will not be ignored for that purpose solely because the claimant decides not to claim it;

• regulation 5(a) amends regulation 4A(1) so that it also applies where an allowance is paid or becomes payable under paragraph (5B) of regulation 4; and regulation 5(b) amends regulation 4A(2) so that it also applies where an allowance or lump sum is paid or becomes payable under paragraph (2B), (3A), (3D) or (4B) of regulation 4;

• regulations 6 substitutes a new provision for regulation 18A to make it clear that no entitlement to benefit arises in relation to claims made after 30th March 2038;

• regulation 7 inserts regulation 18B to set out the requirements for making a claim; and

• regulation 8 inserts regulation 21A to set out the periods within which certain information must be notified to the Scottish Ministers in relation to a claim, and the sanctions that apply in default.