651.This section amends the current provision and provides for a uniform time limit of 6 months in all areas, other than interim assessments, which retain their present 3-month time limit. The effect is to reduce the time limit in some areas and to introduce a time limit in others. This section also provides for transitional protection for decisions made before the new provision is commenced.
652.Subsection (1) section 8(1) of the 1943 Act so that appeals against interim assessments remain subject to a 3-month time limit but in all other cases, including the “new” section 5A appeals, there will be a uniform 6-month appeal time limit from the date the decision or assessment is notified.
653.Subsection (2) inserts three subsections after section 8(3) of the 1943 Act.
654.New section 8(4) enables the Secretary of State to make regulations revising the new appeal time limits of 6 or 3 months for submitting an appeal, either up or down. At present there are no plans to use this provision.
655.New section 8(5) enables the Secretary of State to prescribe in regulations when a PAT can admit a late appeal. In any event, the ability of the PAT to hear a late appeal is not available for those appeals made more than 12 months after the expiry of the statutory appeal time limit (3 or 6 months as appropriate). The current provision which allows late appeals if there was a reasonable excuse for the delay is repealed.
656.New section 8(6) provides that the regulations in either subsection (4) or (5) will be subject to the approval of both Houses of Parliament.
657.The provisions in subsection (2) (the new section 8(4), 8(5) and 8(6)) will apply to all decisions and assessments from the day of commencement regardless of when the decision or assessment was made.
658.Subsection (3) provides that the new appeal time limits in subsection (1) of this section will not apply to entitlement decisions under sections 1 to 4 of the 1943 Act, nor to final assessments under section 5(2) made before the day of commencement. Paragraph (a) refers to entitlement decisions and paragraph (b) to final assessments.
659.Subsection (4) amends section 8(1) of the 1943 Act to provide that people who have been notified of a pre-commencement entitlement decision as set out in subsection (3)(a) of this section will have 12 months from the commencement date of section 57(1) of this Act in which to bring an appeal.
660.Subsection (5) provides that the time within which an appeal may be brought under section 6(1) of the War Pensions Act 1921 (First World War claims) will be amended from 12 months to 6 months, to ensure parity with the other time limit provisions.
661.Subsection (6) provides that the amendment to section 6(1) of the War Pensions Act 1921 does not apply to decisions made before subsection (5) comes into force.
Part II: Pensions. Commentary on Sections Section 58: Time limits for appeals