From General Secretary Bob Crow

Further to Circulars NP/269/12 and NP/279/12 dated 2ND and 8TH November 2012 ,you will be aware that the new CICA scheme was voted through on Monday evening in the House of Commons, in spite of opposition by the Labour Party and a campaign by this union and others and victims groups.

The new scheme:

removes injuries in bands 1-5 (£1,000 - £2,000)
significantly reduces (by approximately half) the tariffs in bands 6-12
removes injuries caused by suicide or attempted suicide from the scheme completely.
includes a number of new rules which change eligibility criteria, including a requirement to report the incident to the police.

The new scheme comes into force on 27 November 2012. All applications received after that date will be dealt with under the new scheme.

The CICA has confirmed that the cut off date for applications under the old scheme is 23.59 hours on 26th November 2012. Please let members know they should not delay if they have pending applications they need to lodge them before the cut off time and date.

This Union is committed to campaigning to repeal this anti victim legislation and I will keep you informed of further developments in this matter and I would be grateful if you could bring the contents of this circular to the attention of your members.