The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 3) Regulations 2003

Scottish Statutory Instruments

2003 No. 431

NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE

The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 3) Regulations 2003

Made

11th September 2003

Laid before the Scottish Parliament

12th September 2003

Coming into force

6th October 2003

The Scottish Ministers, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 26, 70(1), 105(7) and 108(1) of, and paragraphs 2 and 2A of Schedule 11 to, the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978(1) and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 3) Regulations 2003, and shall come into force on 6th October 2003.

Amendment of the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Scotland) Regulations 1998

2.—(1) The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Scotland) Regulations 1998(2) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 1(2) (interpretation) after the definition of “patient’s resources” insert ““pension credit guarantee credit” means state pension credit guarantee credit as construed in accordance with sections 1 and 2 of the State Pension Credit Act 2002(3);”.

(3) In regulation 8 (eligibility–supply of optical appliances)–

(a) in paragraph (3), after sub-paragraph (l) insert–

“(m) he is in receipt of pension credit guarantee credit; or

(n) he is a member of the same family as a person described in sub-paragraph (m) of this paragraph.”; and

(b) in paragraph (4), for sub-paragraph (a) substitute–

“(a) in sub-paragraphs (b), (f) and (n), “family” has the meaning given to it by section 137(1) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(4), as it applies to income support;”.

MALCOLM CHISHOLM

A member of the Scottish Executive

St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh

11th September 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Scotland) Regulations 1998 which provide for payments to be made by means of a voucher system, in respect of costs incurred by certain categories of persons in connection with sight tests and the supply, replacement or repair of optical appliances.

Regulation 2(2)(a) and (3) extend the description of persons entitled to a payment towards the cost incurred for the supply of an optical appliance for which a prescription has been given to include persons in receipt of pension credit guarantee credit and members of their family.

Regulation 2(3)(b) extends the current definition of “family” contained in section 137(1) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 to the family of a person in receipt of state pension credit guarantee credit.

(1)

1978 c. 29; section 26 was amended by the Health and Social Security Act 1984 (c. 48) (“the 1984 Act”), Schedule 1, Part II, paragraphs 1 to 4, and Schedule 8, and by the Health and Medicines Act 1988 (c. 49) (“the 1988 Act”), section 13(4); section 70(1) was amended by the 1988 Act, Schedule 3; section 105(7) was amended by the Health Services Act 1980 (c. 53), Schedule 6, paragraph 5 and Schedule 7, by the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983 (c. 41), Schedule 9, paragraph 24 and by the Health Act 1999 (c. 8), Schedule 4, paragraph 60; section 108(1) contains definitions of “prescribed” and “regulations” relevant to the exercise of the statutory powers under which these Regulations are made; paragraph 2(1) of Schedule 11 was substituted by the 1988 Act, Schedule 2, paragraph 15(1); and paragraph 2A of Schedule 11 was inserted by the 1984 Act, Schedule 1, Part II, paragraph 7 and amended by the 1988 Act, section 13(2) and (5). The functions of the Secretary of State were transferred to the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46).

(2)

S.I. 1998/642; relevant amending instruments are S.I. 1999/748 and S.S.I. 2000/45 and 395, 2001/88, 2002/17 and 2002/224 and 2003/218.

(3)

2002 c. 16.

(4)

1992 c. 4.