Health and Personal Social Services Act (Northern Ireland) 2001

Remuneration for Part VI services

40.—(1) For Article 64A of the principal Order (regulations as to remuneration for Part VI services) there shall be substituted—

“Remuneration for Part VI services

64A.— (1) The remuneration to be paid to persons who provide general medical services, general dental services, general ophthalmic services or pharmaceutical services under this Part shall be determined by determining authorities (and they may also determine the remuneration to be paid to persons providing those services in respect of the instruction of any person in matters relating to those services).

(2) For the purposes of this Article and Article 64B determining authorities are—

(a) the Department; and

(b) so far as authorised by the Department to exercise the functions of determining authorities, any Health and Social Services Board or other person appointed by the Department in an instrument (referred to in this Article and Article 64B as an instrument of appointment).

(3) An instrument of appointment—

(a) may contain requirements with which a determining authority appointed by that instrument must comply in making determinations; and

(b) may be contained in regulations.

(4) Subject to this Article and Article 64B, regulations may make provision about determining remuneration under paragraph (1) and may in particular impose requirements with which determining authorities must comply in making, or in connection with, determinations (including requirements as to consultation and publication).

(5) Regulations may provide—

(a) that determinations may be made by reference to any of the following—

(i) rates or conditions of remuneration of any persons or any descriptions of persons which are fixed or determined, or to be fixed or determined, otherwise than by way of a determination under paragraph (1);

(ii) scales, indices or other data of any description specified in the regulations;

(b) that any determination which in accordance with regulations made by virtue of sub-paragraph (a)(ii) falls to be made by reference to a scale or an index or to any other data may be made not only by reference to that scale or index or those data in the form current at the time of the determination but also by reference to the scale, index or data in any subsequent form attributable to amendment or revision taking effect after that time or to any other cause.

(6) Regulations may—

(a) provide that determining authorities may make determinations which have effect in relation to remuneration in respect of a period beginning on or after a date specified in the determination, which may be the date of the determination or an earlier or later date, but may be an earlier date only if, taking the determination as a whole, it is not detrimental to the persons to whose remuneration it relates;

(b) provide that any determination which does not specify such a date shall have effect in relation to remuneration in respect of a period beginning—

(i) if it is required to be published, on the date of publication;

(ii) if it is not so required, on the date on which it is made.

(7) A reference in this Article or Article 64B to a determination is to a determination of remuneration under paragraph (1).

Part VI remuneration: supplementary

64B.— (1) Before a determination is made by the Department which relates to all persons who provide services of, or of a category falling within, one of the descriptions of services mentioned in Article 64A(1), the Department—

(a) shall consult a body appearing to it to be representative of persons to whose remuneration the determination would relate; and

(b) may consult such other persons as it considers appropriate.

(2) Determinations may make different provision for different cases including different provision for any particular case, class of case or area.

(3) Determinations may—

(a) be made in more than one stage;

(b) be made by more than one determining authority;

(c) be varied or revoked by subsequent determinations.

(4) A determination may be varied—

(a) to correct an error; or

(b) where it appears to the determining authority that it was made in ignorance of or under a mistake as to a relevant fact.

(5) Determinations may, in particular, provide that the whole or any part of the remuneration—

(a) is payable only if the determining authority is satisfied as to certain conditions; or

(b) is to be applied for certain purposes or is otherwise subject to certain conditions.

(6) Subject to Article 57(1), remuneration under Article 64A may consist of payments by way of—

(a) salary;

(b) fees;

(c) allowances;

(d) reimbursement (in full or in part) of expenses incurred or expected to be incurred in connection with the provision of the services or instruction,

and may be determined from time to time.

(7) At the time a determination is made or varied, certain matters which require determining may be reserved to be decided at a later time.

(8) The matters which may be reserved include in particular—

(a) the amount of remuneration to be paid in particular cases;

(b) whether any remuneration is to be paid in particular cases.

(9) Any determination shall be made after taking into account all the matters which are considered to be relevant by the determining authority and such matters may include in particular—

(a) the amount or estimated amount of expenses (taking into account any discounts) incurred in the past or likely to be incurred in the future (whether or not by persons to whose remuneration the determination will relate) in connection with the provision of services of the description in Article 64A(1) to which the determination will relate or of any category falling within that description;

(b) the amount or estimated amount of any remuneration paid or likely to be paid to persons providing such services;

(c) the amount or estimated amount of any other payments or repayments or other benefits received or likely to be received by any such persons;

(d) the extent to which it is desirable to encourage the provision, either generally or in particular places, of the description or category of services to which the determination will relate;

(e) the desirability of promoting services which are—

(i) economic and efficient; and

(ii) of an appropriate standard.

(10) If the determination is of remuneration for a category of services falling within one of the descriptions of services mentioned in Article 64A(1), the reference in paragraph (9)(a) to a category of services is a reference to the same category of services or to any other category of services falling within the same description.”.

(2) This section and the associated repeals in Schedule 5 have effect in relation to—

(a) the making of determinations after the coming into operation of this section; and

(b) the variation or revocation after the coming into operation of this section of determinations whenever made,

and in this subsection “determinations” means determinations under Part VI of the principal Order of the remuneration to be paid to persons who provide services mentioned in Article 64A(1) of that Order.