The Minister may, to such extent and subject to such conditions as he thinks fit, delegate to any other Minister or officer of the Crown any functions exercisable by him by virtue of this section or any scheme made thereunder.

The Minister may, to such extent and subject to such conditions as he thinks fit, delegate to the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body any function exercisable by him by virtue of this section or any scheme made thereunder so far as that function or scheme relates to any employees of that Body.

Before making any scheme under this section the Minister, or, if the Minister so directs in relation to a particular scheme F9(other than a scheme mentioned in subsection (3A) below), another Minister of the Crown specified in the direction, shall consult with persons appearing to the Minister or that other Minister, as the case may be, to represent persons likely to be affected by the proposed scheme or with the last-mentioned persons.

No employment or office shall be added to those listed in the said Schedule 1 unless the remuneration of persons serving in that employment or office is paid out of moneys provided by Parliament F10the Consolidated Fund or the Scottish Consolidated Fund.

Notwithstanding subsection (6) above, the Minister may by order provide that this section shall apply to persons serving in employment which is remunerated out of a fund specified in the order, being a fund established by or under an Act of Parliament.

In this section—

• “authorised provider”, in relation to any benefit, means a person authorised under Chapter III of Part I of the Financial Services Act M31986 to provide that benefit;

• “money purchase scheme” F12has the meaning given by section 181(1) of the Pension Schemes Act 1993

A scheme under section 1 of this Act which makes provision with respect to the pensions, allowances or gratuities which are to be, or may be, paid to or in respect of a person to whom that section applies and who is incapacitated or dies as a result of an injury sustained, or disease contracted, in circumstances prescribed by the scheme may make the like provision in relation to any other person, being a person who is employed in a civil capacity for the purposes of Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom, whether temporarily or permanently and whether for reward or not, or is a person holding office in that Government and who is incapacitated or dies as a result of an injury or disease so sustained or contracted.

No scheme under the said section 1 shall make any provision which would have the effect of reducing the amount of any pension, allowance or gratuity, in so far as that amount is directly or indirectly referable to rights which have accrued (whether by virtue of service rendered, contributions paid or any other thing done) before the coming into operation of the scheme, unless the persons consulted in accordance with section 1(3) of this Act have agreed to the inclusion of that provision.

Where an order has been made under section 1(7) of this Act, any scheme under that section may provide for the payment to the Minister out of the fund specified in the order of benefits or other sums paid by him in accordance with the scheme to or in respect of persons to whom that section applies by virtue of the order, together with any administrative expenses incurred in connection with the payment of those sums, and for the payment into that fund of contributions paid in accordance with the scheme by or in respect of those persons and of any transfer values received in respect of them.

Any scheme under the said section 1 may provide for the determination by the Minister of questions arising under the scheme and may provide that the decision of the Minister on any such question shall be final.

Where under any such scheme any question falls to be determined by the Minister, then, at any time before the question is determined, the Minister may (and if so directed by any of the Courts hereinafter mentioned shall) state in the form of a special case for determination by the High Court, the Court of Session or the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland any question of law arising out of the question which falls to be determined by him.

Where such a case is stated for determination by the High Court, an appeal to the Court of Appeal from the determination by the High Court shall lie only with the leave of the High Court or of the Court of Appeal; and where such a case is stated for determination by the Court of Session then, subject to any rules of court, the Minister shall be entitled to appear and be heard when the case is being considered by that Court.

Any scheme under the said section 1 may amend or revoke any previous scheme made thereunder.

Different schemes may be made under the said section 1 in relation to different classes of persons to whom that section applies, and in this section “the principal civil service pension scheme” means the principal scheme so made relating to persons serving in employment in the home civil service or the diplomatic service.

Before a scheme made under the said section 1, being the principal civil service pension scheme or a scheme amending or revoking that scheme, comes into operation the Minister shall lay a copy of the scheme before Parliament.

Notwithstanding any repeal made by this Act, the existing civil service superannuation provisions, that is to say, the enactments and instruments listed in Schedule 2 to this Act, shall, with the necessary adaptations and modifications, have effect as from the commencement of this Act as if they constituted a scheme made under the said section 1 in relation to the persons to whom that section applies, being the principal civil service pension scheme, and coming into operation on the said commencement and may be revoked or amended accordingly.

The following provisions of this section shall have effect where a scheme under section 1 of this Act provides for the payment of a pension, allowance or gratuity to or in respect of a person who is incapacitated or dies as a result of an injury sustained or disease contracted in circumstances prescribed by the scheme, and a pension, allowance or gratuity is paid in accordance with the scheme to or in respect of a person in consequence of an injury or disease so sustained or contracted or of a death resulting from such injury or disease.

So far as any amount recoverable under this section represents a payment made by the Minister from which income tax has been deducted before payment, the proper allowance shall be made in respect of the amount so deducted, and in this section “the net amount of the damages” means the amount of the damages after deducting any tax payable in the United Kingdom or elsewhere to which the damages are subject.

A certificate issued by the Minister and stating the date on which the final determination of any amount of damages first came to his knowledge shall be admissible in any proceedings as sufficient evidence of that date.

The provisions of this section are without prejudice to any right of the Minister under any such scheme to take damages into account by withholding or reducing any further sums otherwise payable to the recipient of the pension, allowance or gratuity.

Where on the death of any person there is due to the deceased or his personal representatives from a government department a sum, not exceeding F2£5,000, in respect of salary, wages or other emoluments or of superannuation benefits payable by virtue of a scheme made under section 1 of this Act, probate or other proof of the title of the personal representatives of the deceased may be dispensed with, and the appropriate authority may pay the whole or any part of that sum to those representatives or to the person, or to or among any one or more of any persons, appearing to that authority to be beneficially entitled to the personal or movable estate of the deceased; and any person to whom such a payment is made, and not the appropriate authority, shall thereafter be liable to account for the amount paid to him under this subsection.

Subsection (1) above shall be included among the provisions with respect to which the Treasury may make an order under section 6(1) of the M1Administration of Estates (Small Payments) Act 1965 substituting for references to £500 such higher amount as may be specified in the order.

The reference to a government department in subsection (1) above shall be construed as including a reference to a body or institution listed in Schedule 1 to this Act F3and as including a reference to any part of the Scottish Administration.

In this section “the appropriate authority”, in relation to any sum, means the Minister in charge of the government department F4, the Scottish Ministers in respect of any part of the Scottish Administration, the body, or the trustees or other authority responsible for the institution, as the case may be, from whom that sum is due.

Any assignment (or, in Scotland, assignation) of or charge on, and any agreement to assign or charge, any benefit payable under a scheme made under section 1 of this Act shall be void.

Nothing in subsection (1) above shall affect the powers of any court under F5section 310 of the Insolvency Act 1986 or section F632(2) and (4) of the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act F61985 (bankrupt’s salary, pension, etc. may be ordered to be paid to the trustee in bankruptcy) or under any enactment applying to Northern Ireland (including an enactment of the Parliament of Northern Ireland) and corresponding to F5section 51(2) of the Bankruptcy Act 1914M2 or the said section 310

The Minister may by order repeal or amend any provision in any Act of Parliament, whether public general, local or private, including an Act confirming a provisional order, or in any order or other instrument made under any such Act, where it appears to him that that provision is inconsistent with, or has become unnecessary or requires modification in consequence of, any provision of section 1 or 2 of this Act or of any scheme made under the said section 1 or any repeal made by this Act in consequence of the enactment of those sections.