HC Deb 02 July 1982 vol 26 cc1181-2

140C.—(1) The relevant classes of contracts of insurance for the purposes of sections 140A and 140B above are—

  1. (a) class IV in Schedule 1 to the Insurance Companies Act 1981 (permanent health insurance); and
  2. (b) class I in Part I of Schedule 2 to that Act (accident insurance).
(2) Any sum received under a contract of insurance made by virtue of section 140A or 140B above shall, after deduction of any expenses incurred in the recovery thereof, be paid by the authority receiving it to, or to the personal representatives of, the voluntary assistant who suffered the accident, disease or sickness in respect of which the sum is received or to such other person as the authority consider appropriate having regard to the circumstances of the case; and a sum paid to any person other than the assistant or his personal representatives shall be applied by that person in accordance with any directions given by the authority for the benefit of any dependant of the voluntary assistant.

(3) The provisions of the Life Assurance Act 1774 shall not apply to any such contract.

(4) Section 119 above shall apply to any sum which is due by virtue of subsection (2) above and does not exceed the amount for the time being specified in section 119(1) above.".

(3) In the entry relating to Class I in Part I of Schedule 2 to the Insurance Companies Act 1981, after the words "the person insured" there shall be inserted the words "or, in the case of a contract made by virtue of section 140, 140A or 140B of the Local Government Act 1972, a person for whose benefit the contract is made"."

Mr. Macfarlane

I beg to move, That this House cloth agree with the Lords in the said amendment.

Mr. Deputy Speaker

With this we may take Lords amendment No. 91.

Mr. Macfarlane

The new clause replaces clause 33 and makes two substantial changes to the Local Government Act 1972. The first is to section 140 which deals with the insurance by local authorities of their members against personal accidents. When that section came into operation in 1974, the law relating to insurance companies was embodied in the Insurance Companies Act 1958. Since then, there have been two changes in the law relating to such companies. The first was contained in the Insurance Companies Act 1974 and the second in the Insurance Companies Act 1981. The latter specifies that only certain authorised insurers may undertake specified classes of insurance. The new clause amends section 140 of the Local Government Act 1972 to conform with the new scheme in the Insurance Companies Act 1981, but makes no changes to the powers of a local authority in relation to the insurance of its members.

The second change deals with the insurance of probation service volunteers by county councils and the Greater London Council in relation to that area of Greater London comprised in the outer London boroughs. An undertaking was given in the other place to consider a proposal that local authorities should be empowered to provide accident and disability insurance for such volunteers.

Section 140B arose from that undertaking and enables insurance cover for such volunteers to be provided by local authorities who are empowered by section 140A to insure their own voluntary assistants. Because the inner London probation service is financed out of the funds of the Metropolitan Police it was not possible to bring their volunteers within this legislation, but the new provision will enable insurance cover to be provided to 90 per cent. of probation service volunteers at minimal cost by those councils which make financial contributions to the cost of the probation service.

As a result of the introduction of section 140B into the 1972 Act, drafting changes have been necessary to section 140A and new section 140C has been included which contains provisions common to both section l4OA and 140B.

Question put and agreed to.

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