Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015

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Statements of recoverable benefits

12. (1) The Principal Act is amended—

(a) in section 300(2), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (hh) (inserted by section 13 of the Act of 2013):

“(hh) Part 11B (recovery of certain benefits and assistance), being a question as to whether—

(i) a benefit, or any part of a benefit, under Part 2, or

(ii) any assistance, or any part of any assistance, under Part 3,

specified in a statement of recoverable benefits or a revised statement of recoverable benefits is a recoverable benefit within the meaning of Part 11B, and”,

(b) in section 311, by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (4)(inserted by section 13 of the Act of 2013):

“(4) No appeal may be made under subsection (1) by any person against the decision given by a deciding officer on a question under paragraph (hh) of section 300(2) until the recoverable benefits specified in the relevant statement of recoverable benefits, within the meaning of Part 11B, have been paid to the Minister in accordance with section 343R.”,

(c) in section 343L (inserted by section 13 of the Act of 2013)—

(i) by the insertion, in subsection (1), of the following definitions:

“ ‘relevant statement of recoverable benefits’ means a statement of recoverable benefits or, where a revised statement of recoverable benefits has been issued, the revised statement of recoverable benefits;

‘revised statement of recoverable benefits’ means a statement issued by the Minister under subsection 343PA(2) specifying the amount of recoverable benefits in respect of an injured person;”,

(ii) by the substitution, in subsection (1), of the following definition for the definition of “statement of recoverable benefits”:

“ ‘statement of recoverable benefits’ means a statement issued by the Minister under section 343P(3) or 343PA(1) specifying the amount of recoverable benefits in respect of an injured person.”,

and

(iii) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) In this Part ‘recoverable benefits’ means—

(a) in the case of a statement of recoverable benefits issued under section 343P(3) or 343PA(1) —

(i) the specified benefits paid to an injured person as a result of the personal injury before the date of the issuing of the statement of recoverable benefits, and

(ii) the specified benefits that may be paid to an injured person as a result of the personal injury on or after the date referred to in subparagraph (i) until the end of the specified period,

and

(b) in the case of a revised statement of recoverable benefits issued under section 343PA(2) —

(i) the specified benefits paid to an injured person as a result of the personal injury before the date of the issuing of the revised statement of recoverable benefits, and

(ii) the specified benefits that may be paid to an injured person as a result of the personal injury on or after the date referred to in subparagraph (i) until the end of the specified period.”,

(d) by the insertion of the following section after section 343P (inserted by section 13 of the Act of 2013):

“Issuing of statements and revised statements of recoverable benefits by Minister

343PA. (1) The Minister may issue a statement of recoverable benefits to a compensator or the Board, as the case may be, where—

(a) a compensator has made a compensation payment to, or in respect of, an injured person but has not applied for a statement of recoverable benefits under section 343P(1), or

(b) the Board has issued an order to pay under section 38 of the Act of 2003 but has not applied for a statement of recoverable benefits under section 343P(2).

(2) The Minister may issue a revised statement of recoverable benefits to a compensator or the Board, as the case may be, where, subsequent to the issue of a statement of recoverable benefits under subsection (1) or section 343P(3), a decision or a revised decision, within the meaning of section 343Q(4), is given to—

(a) award a specified benefit to an injured person, or

(b) vary a specified benefit payable to an injured person.

(3) The Minister shall, at the same time as issuing a statement of recoverable benefits under subsection (1) or a revised statement of recoverable benefits under subsection (2) to a compensator or the Board, as the case may be, issue a copy of the statement to the injured person.

(4) The Minister may by regulations prescribe the information to be provided by a compensator or an injured person which is required by the Minister in relation to the identity of the injured person and benefits received by that person for the purposes of issuing a statement of recoverable benefits under subsection (1) or a revised statement of recoverable benefits under subsection (2), as the case may be.”,

(e) by the substitution of the following section for section 343Q (inserted by section 13 of the Act of 2013):

“Period of validity of statements and revised statements of recoverable benefits

343Q. (1) A statement of recoverable benefits or a revised statement of recoverable benefits shall be valid—

(a) in a case where, at the time of issuing the statement, no recoverable benefits have been identified—

(i) for 12 months from the date of issue of the statement of recoverable benefits or revised statement of recoverable benefits, as the case may be, or

(ii) until such time as a decision or a revised decision is given to award a specified benefit to an injured person,

whichever is the earlier,

(b) in a case where, at the time of issuing the statement, recoverable benefits have been identified and no specified benefit is being paid—

(i) for 12 months from the date of issue of the statement of recoverable benefits or revised statement of recoverable benefits, as the case may be, or

(ii) until such time as a decision or a revised decision is given to award a specified benefit to an injured person or to vary a specified benefit payable to an injured person,

whichever is the earlier, and

(c) in any other case—

(i) for 3 months from the date of issue of the statement of recoverable benefits or the revised statement of recoverable benefits, as the case may be, or

(ii) until such time as a decision or a revised decision is given to vary a specified benefit payable to an injured person,

whichever is the earlier.

(2) A person to whom a statement of recoverable benefits or a revised statement of recoverable benefits has been issued may request the Minister to furnish particulars of the manner in which the amount of recoverable benefits specified in the statement was calculated.

(3) The Minister shall furnish the particulars requested under subsection (2) within 4 weeks of the receipt of such a request.

(4) In this section—

‘decision’ means—

(a) a decision that is given by a deciding officer under section 300, or

(b) a decision that is given by an appeals officer under section 311;

‘revised decision’ means—

(a) a revised decision that is given by a deciding officer under section 301, or

(b) a revised decision that is given by an appeals officer under section 317.”,

(f) in section 343R (inserted by section 13 of the Act of 2013)—

(i) in subsection (1), by the substitution of “relevant statement of recoverable benefits” for “statement of recoverable benefits”, and

(ii) in subsection (2), by the substitution of “relevant statement of recoverable benefits” for “statement of recoverable benefits”,

(g) in section 343U (inserted by section 13 of the Act of 2013), in subsection (2), by the substitution of “paragraph (a)(ii) or (b)(ii) ” for “paragraph (b) ”,

(h) in section 343V (inserted by section 13 of the Act of 2013)—

(i) in subsection (2), by the substitution of “relevant statement of recoverable benefits” for “statement of recoverable benefits”, and

(ii) in subsection (3), by the substitution of “relevant statement of recoverable benefits” for “statement of recoverable benefits”,

and

(i) by the insertion of the following section after section 343W (inserted by section 13 of the Act of 2013):

“Transitional arrangements

343X. Any statement of recoverable benefits issued prior to the coming into operation of section 12 of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015 shall be valid for the period specified in that statement or until a decision or a revised decision, within the meaning of section 343Q(4), is given to award a specified benefit to an injured person or to vary a specified benefit payable to an injured person, whichever is the earlier.”.

(2) In this section “Act of 2013” means the Social Welfare and Pensions Act 2013 .