Pensions (Navy, Army, Air Force and Mercantile Marine) Act 1939

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
Citation1939 c. 83


Pensions (Navy, Army, Air Force and Mercantile Marine) Act, 1939

(2 & 3 Geo. 6.) CHAPTER 83.

An Act to make provision for the transfer to the Minister of Pensions of powers and duties with respect to pensions and grants vested in certain Naval, Military and Air Force authorities, to amend section nine of the War Pensions (Administrative Provisions) Act, 1918, to make provision for awards in respect of war injuries to, and the detention of, mariners and other seafaring persons and war damage to their effects, and for purposes connected with the matters aforesaid.

[3rd September 1939]

Be it enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

S-1 Transfer of powers and duties as respects naval, military and air force pensions.

1 Transfer of powers and duties as respects naval, military and air force pensions.

(1) His Majesty may by Order in Council transfer to the Minister of Pensions (in this Act referred to as ‘the Minister’) all or any of the powers and duties of any appropriate authority with respect to pensions and grants payable out of moneys provided by Parliament, on account of disablement or death arising out of service after such date (whether before or after the commencement of this Act) as may be specified in the Order, to the following persons, namely—

(a ) persons who have served as officers or men of any of His Majesty's naval, military or air forces;

(b ) persons who have been employed in the nursing service or other auxiliary service of any of His Majesty's said forces;

(c ) dependants of such persons as aforesaid.

(2) In the preceding subsection the expression ‘appropriate authority’ means, in relation to any of His Majesty's naval forces, the Admiralty, in relation to any of His Majesty's military forces, the Army Council, the Secretary of State and the Commissioners of the Royal Hospital for soldiers at Chelsea and, in relation to any of His Majesty's Air Forces, the Air Council and the Secretary of State.

(3) His Majesty may by Order in Council re-transfer all or any of the powers and duties transferred to the Minister pursuant to this section to the authority from which they were so transferred.

(4) A transfer or re-transfer pursuant to this section shall take effect on such date as His Majesty may by Order in Council fix, and different dates may be fixed for different powers and duties.

(5) An Order in Council under this section may make such adaptations in the enactments relating to any powers and duties transferred to the Minister pursuant to this section as may be necessary or expedient for enabling those powers and duties to be exercised or performed by the Minister and his officers, and may contain such supplementary and consequential provisions as may be necessary or expedient for giving effect to the purposes of the Order.

S-2 Amendment as to care of children.

2 Amendment as to care of children.

2. The children for the care of whom it shall be the duty of the Minister to make provision after the commencement of this Act under section nine of the War Pensions (Administrative Provisions) Act, 1918, as amended by any subsequent enactment, shall be children—

a ) to or in respect of whom a pension or grant has been awarded by the Minister on account of the death of a parent under any powers or duties transferred to him pursuant to the last preceding section; and
b ) who, by reason of their mother being dead or for any other reason, are suffering from neglect or want of proper care

and no other children, except children for whose care provision is being made under that section at the commencement of this Act.

S-3 Awards to mariners in respect of war injuries and detention.

3 Awards to mariners in respect of war injuries and detention.

(1) The Minister may with the consent of the Treasury make a scheme for—

(a ) applying the provisions of any Naval War Pensions Order to mariners in cases where their death or disablement is directly attributable to war injuries sustained by reason of their service in British ships, or to detention caused by reason of such service; and

(b ) the payment of allowances to or for the benefit of mariners detained as aforesaid, or to or for the benefit of the dependants of mariners so detained.

(2) For the purpose of this section a mariner shall be deemed to have sustained a war injury, or to have been detained, by reason of his service in a British ship, if he sustained the injury, or if the capture in consequence of which the detention occurs is effected—

(a ) while he is in the service of a British ship; or

(b ) while he is proceeding by sea, or by land or air outside the British Islands, to a British ship for the purpose of being in the service thereof; or

(c ) while he is returning by sea, or by land or air outside the British Islands, to the British Islands or to the country to which he belongs from a British ship after being in the service thereof; or

(d ) while he is outside the British Islands on leave from a British ship which for the time being is in a port outside the British Islands.

(3) If it appears to the Minister that the awards that could be authorised by the provisions of a scheme made by virtue of paragraph (a ) of subsection (1) of this section would, in the case of mariners of any particular class, be inappropriate to the conditions of their employment or engagement, he may, with the consent of the Treasury, in lieu of making provision for the application in their case of a Naval War Pensions Order, make a scheme authorising in their case awards on account of the like matters as if the scheme were made under those provisions, but of such amount and character as may be specified in the scheme.

S-4 Awards to pilots, &c.

4 Awards to pilots, &c.

(1) The Minister may with the consent of the Treasury make a scheme for—

(a ) applying the provisions of any Naval War Pensions Order to persons to whom this section applies in cases where their death or disablement is directly attributable to war injuries sustained by reason of their service, or to detention caused by reason of their service; and

(b ) the payment of allowances to or for the benefit of any such persons detained as aforesaid, or to or for the benefit of the dependants of such persons so detained.

(2) This section applies to the following persons, namely—

(a ) pilots and apprentice pilots; and

(b ) masters and members of the crew of pilot boats, lightships, lighthouse tenders and lightship tenders.

(3) For the purpose of this section, a person to whom this section applies shall be deemed to have sustained a war injury, or to have been detained, by reason of his service, if he sustained the injury, or if the capture in consequence of which the detention occurs is effected—

(a ) in the case of a pilot or apprentice pilot—

(i) while he is on board any ship for the purpose of taking her, or assisting to take her, into or out of a port in the British Islands; or

(ii)while he is proceeding by sea, or by land or air outside the British Islands, to a ship for the purpose of taking her, or assisting to take her, into any such port; or

(iii) while he is returning to the British Islands after having taken, or assisted to take, a ship out of any such port; or

(iv) while he is at a place outside the British Islands for the purpose of proceeding or returning as aforesaid; or

(v) while he is on board any pilot boat;

(b ) in the case of a master or member of the crew of a pilot boat, lighthouse tender or lightship tender, while he is in the service of the boat or tender;

(c ) in the case of a master or member of the crew of a lightship, while he is in the service of the lightship or is proceeding by...

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