Citation, commencement and interpretation_I1

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the War Pensions Committees Regulations 2000, and shall come into force on 1st January 2001.

(2) In these Regulations—

“committee” means a war pensions committee or, where the context so requires, the war pensions committee for the relevant area;

^F1 “member” means member of a committee or, where the context so requires, a member of the relevant committee; ...

[^F2 “surviving spouse” means a widow or widower in receipt of a war pension; and ^F2]

[^F3 “surviving civil partner” means a surviving civil partner in receipt of a war pension. ^F3]

(3) Any reference to Schedule 1 or to Schedule 2 is a reference to the Schedule so numbered in these Regulations, and any reference to the area of a committee is a reference to the area for which the committee is established pursuant to regulation 3, 4, 5 or 6.

Revocation of regulations and abolition of existing committees_I2

2. The following Regulations are hereby revoked:

• The War Pensions Committees Regulations 1990(3);

• The War Pensions Committees (Amendment) Regulations 1995(4); and

• The War Pensions Committees (Amendment) Regulations 1996(5),

and the committees established and operated thereunder shall be abolished.

Committees for England_I3

3. In England, there shall be established for each group of local government areas specified in column 1 of Schedule 1 a committee bearing the name specified in respect of that group in column 2.

Committee for Wales_I4

4. There shall be established for Wales a committee named the [^F4Wales Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee (Pwyllgor Cynghori a Pensiynau Cyn-filwyr Cymru)^F4] .

Committee for Northern Ireland_I5

5. There shall be established for Northern Ireland a committee named the [^F5Northern Ireland Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committee^F5] .

Committees for Scotland

6. In Scotland, there shall be established for each group of local government areas specified in column 1 of the following Table a committee bearing the name specified in respect of that group in column 2—

Membership, constitution, proceedings, etc of committees_I7

7.—(1) Each committee shall consist of not fewer than 12 nor more than 20 members who shall be appointed by the Secretary of State.

(2) The provisions of Schedule 2 shall have effect with respect to committees.

Functions of a committee_I8

8.—(1) In its area, a committee shall—

(a)enable and foster local consultation by the Secretary of State on issues affecting war [^F9pensioners, [^F10 surviving spouses, surviving civil partners or AFCS benefit recipients^F10,F9]] ;

(b)help to increase awareness about war pensions [^F11and AFCS benefits^F11] ;

[^F12 (c)support the [^F13 Veterans UK^F13] by monitoring its welfare service, raising awareness of the service it provides and liaising with other organisations with a view to ensuring that the welfare needs of [^F14 war pensioners, surviving spouses, surviving civil partners, AFCS benefit recipients^F14] and their dependants are suitably addressed; and^F12]

(d)assist war [^F15pensioners, [^F16 surviving spouses, surviving civil partners, AFCS benefit recipients and others claiming war pensions or AFCS benefits^F16,F15]] with any problem or complaint regarding [^F17war pensions, AFCS benefits^F17] or the welfare services provided by [^F18Veterans UK^F18] .

(2) In its area, a committee may, in particular—

(a)assist any individual [^F19claiming or receiving a war pension or AFCS benefit^F19] in pursuing any problem or complaint mentioned in paragraph (1)(d);

(b)make representations and recommendations to the Secretary of State about any problem or complaint mentioned in paragraph (1)(d);

(c)report [^F20or make recommendations^F20] to the Secretary of State on any matter arising pursuant to its functions under paragraph (1); and

(d)receive and disburse funds from charitable or other sources for the sole purpose of provision of social activities for war [^F21pensioners, [^F22 surviving spouses, surviving civil partners and AFCS benefit recipients^F22,F21]] .

(3) Where funds are received as mentioned in paragraph (2)(d), the committee shall keep proper accounts of all receipts and disbursements, and it shall provide a copy of those accounts to the Secretary of State as soon as is practicable after:

(a)the end of each financial year; and

(b)at any other time, on receipt of a written request from the Secretary of State.

[^F23 (4) In this regulation “Veterans UK ” means an office designated by the Secretary of State for the purpose of receiving and determining claims for war pensions and AFCS benefits. ^F23]

Recommendations and representations_I9

9. Any recommendations or representations which a committee makes to the Secretary of State shall be by way of a resolution submitted to him.

SCHEDULE 1 COMMITTEES IN ENGLAND _I10

Regulation 7(2)

SCHEDULE 2 PROCEEDINGS, ETC. OF COMMITTEES

MEMBERS _{I11,I12,I13,I14}

1. Subject to paragraphs 2 and 3, a member shall hold office for a period not exceeding 3 years in any term of appointment, and may be re-appointed.

2. A member may resign from a committee by notice in writing sent to the Secretary of State.

3. The Secretary of State may remove a member from office if he has reasonable grounds to believe that the member is unable, unfit or unsuitable to discharge the functions of a member.

4. The Secretary of State may, subject to regulation 7(1), appoint a new member at any time, whether to fill a casual vacancy or otherwise.

CHAIRMAN AND VICE-CHAIRMAN _{I15,I16,I17,I18,I19}

5. The Secretary of State shall appoint a Chairman for each committee. The appointment shall be in writing, and shall specify the term of office, which shall not exceed the appointee’s term as a member. A Chairman may be re-appointed.

6. The power in paragraph 5 is exercisable both on the establishment of a committee and to fill any vacancy arising thereafter.

7. The committee shall elect a Vice-Chairman from among their number, who shall hold office for such period (not exceeding the appointee’s term as a member) as the committee by resolution determines.

8. An election of a Vice-Chairman shall be conducted by ballot.

9. The following shall preside over any committee meeting—

(a) the Chairman; or

(b) in the Chairman’s absence, the Vice-Chairman,

but if neither of those officers is present, the members present shall elect one of their number to act as Chairman for the purposes of that meeting only.

PROCEEDINGS _{I20,I21,I22,I23,I24,I25,I26}

10. The committee shall hold a meeting at least twice a year.

11. The Secretary of State shall decide the time and place of the first meeting of each committee. Thereafter, each committee shall decide the time and place of its meetings.

12. One-third of the members may requisition a meeting by giving written notice to the Chairman, who shall call the meeting within 4 weeks of receipt of the notice.

13. The quorum of a committee shall be one quarter of its members, disregarding any fractions, or 4 members, whichever is the greater.

14. Subject to paragraph 8, a committee shall make decisions by a simple majority of members present and voting. In the event of equality of votes, the person presiding over the meeting shall have a casting vote.

15. Minutes of a meeting shall:

(a) be recorded in a minute book;

(b) include the names of members present at the meeting;

(c) be signed by the person presiding at the meeting at which those minutes are approved as correct; and

(d) be open to inspection by the Secretary of State.

16. An official of the Secretary of State may attend any meeting of any committee as an observer.

SUB-COMMITTEES _{I27,I28,I29,I30,I31,I32,I33}

17. A committee may, from among its members, appoint a sub-committee to assist the committee in carrying out any of its functions.

18. A sub-committee shall consist of no fewer than 3 members and no more than four fifths of the total number of members.

19. The committee shall appoint from among its number a Chairman for the sub-committee. The Chairman for the sub-committee shall preside over any sub-committee meeting, but in the Chairman’s absence the members of the sub-committee present shall elect one of their number to act as Chairman for the purposes of that meeting only.

20. Decisions of the sub-committee shall be by a simple majority of the sub-committee members present and voting, and in the event of equality of votes the Chairman of the sub-committee shall have a casting vote.

21. Paragraphs 15 and 16 shall apply to any meeting of a sub-committee.

22. A sub-committee shall act in accordance with any directions of the committee.

23. A sub-committee which considers a complaint made to the committee by a person receiving or claiming a war pension shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, submit to the committee a report of any hearing it has held into the complaint together with a copy of any representations it has made to the Secretary of State.