National Health Service Act 2006

192 Recovery of charges and payments in relation to goods and services

(1) Where goods or services to which this section applies are provided and—

(a) any charge payable by any person under this Act in respect of the provision of the goods or services is reduced, remitted or repaid, but that person is not entitled to the reduction, remission or repayment, or

(b) any payment under this Act is made to, or for the benefit of, any person in respect of the cost of obtaining the goods or services, but that person is not entitled to, or to the benefit of, the payment,

the amount mentioned in subsection (2) is recoverable summarily as a civil debt from the person in question by the responsible authority.

(2) That amount—

(a) in a case within subsection (1)(a), is the amount of the charge or (where it has been reduced) reduction,

(b) in a case within subsection (1)(b), is the amount of the payment.

(3) Where two or more persons are liable under section 191(1) or this section to pay an amount in respect of the same charge or payment, those persons are jointly and severally liable.

(4) For the purposes of this section, the circumstances in which a person is treated as not entitled to a reduction, remission or repayment of a charge, or to (or to the benefit of) a payment, include in particular those in which it is received (wholly or partly)—

(a) on the ground that he or another is a person of a particular description, where the person in question is not of that description,

(b) on the ground that he or another holds a particular certificate, when the person in question does not hold such a certificate or does hold such a certificate but is not entitled to it,

(c) on the ground that he or another has made a particular statement, when the person in question has not made such a statement or the statement made by him is false.

(5) In this section and section 193, “responsible authority” means—

(a) in relation to the recovery of any charge under section 191(1) in respect of the provision of goods or services to which this section applies, the person by whom the charge is recoverable,

(b) in relation to the recovery by virtue of this section of the whole or part of the amount of any such charge, the person by whom the charge would have been recoverable,

(c) in a case within subsection (1)(b), the person who made the payment.

(6) But the Secretary of State may by directions provide for—

(a) the functions of any responsible authority of recovering any charges under this Act in respect of the provision of goods or services to which this section applies,

(b) the functions of any responsible authority under this section and section 193,

to be exercised on behalf of the authority by another health service body.

(7) This section applies to the following goods and services—

(a) dental treatment and appliances provided in pursuance of this Act,

(b) drugs and medicines provided in pursuance of this Act,

(c) sight tests,

(d) optical appliances,

(e) any other appliances provided in pursuance of this Act.

(8) “Health service body” means a body which is a health service body for the purposes of section 9.