The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2008

Scottish Statutory Instruments

2008 No. 106

NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE

The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2008

Made

6th March 2008

Laid before the Scottish Parliament

7th March 2008

Coming into force

1st April 2008

The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 26, 70(1), 73(a), 74(a), 105(7) and 108(1) of, and by paragraphs 2 and 2A of Schedule 11 to, the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978(1) and all other powers enabling them to do so.

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2008 and come into force on 1st April 2008.

(2) In these Regulations “the principal Regulations” means the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Scotland) Regulations 1998(2).

Amendment of the principal Regulations

2.—(1) The principal Regulations are amended as follows.

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

(a) “specified in regulation 3(1)(b)” substitute “referred to in regulation 3(1)(b)(ii)”; and

(b) “2007” substitute “2008(4)”.

(3) In regulation 19 (redemption value of voucher for replacement or repair)(5)–

(a) in paragraph (1)(b) for “£50.50” substitute “£51.90”;

(b) in paragraph (3)(a) for “£13.00” substitute “£13.40”; and

(c) in paragraph (3)(b) for “£57.00” substitute “£58.50”.

(4) In Schedule 1 (voucher letter codes and face values supply and replacement)(6) in column 3 (face value of voucher) for each amount specified in column 1 of the table (old amount) substitute the amount specified in relation to it in column 2 of the table (new amount).

Column 1	Column 2
Old amount	New amount
£34.60	£35.50
£52.60	£54.00
£76.90	£79.00
£173.70	£178.40
£59.80	£61.40
£76.00	£78.10
£98.50	£101.20
£190.90	£196.10
£177.90	£182.70
£50.50	£51.90

(5) For Schedule 2 (voucher values – repair)(7), substitute the Schedule 2 set out in the Schedule to these Regulations.

(6) In Schedule 3 (prisms, tints, photochromic lenses, small glasses and special frames and complex appliances)(8)–

(a) in paragraph 1(1)(a) (single vision lens with prism) for “£11.30” substitute “£11.60”;

(b) in paragraph 1(1)(b) (other lens with prism) for “£13.50” substitute “£13.90”;

(c) in paragraph 1(1)(c) (single vision tinted lens) for “£3.80” substitute “£3.90”;

(d) in paragraph 1(1)(d) (other tinted lens) for “£4.30” substitute ?OQ?£4.40;

(e) in paragraph 1(1)(e) (small glasses)–

(i) in sub head (i) for “£57.00” substitute “£58.50”;

(ii) in sub head (ii) for “£50.50” substitute “£51.90”; and

(iii) in sub head (iii) for “£27.30” substitute “£28.00”;

(f) in paragraph 1(1)(g) (specially manufactured frame) for “£57.00”, “£50.50” and “£27.30” substitute “£58.50”, “£51.90” and “£28.00” respectively;

(g) in paragraph 2(a) (minimum complex appliance payment – single vision lenses) for “£13.00” substitute “£13.40”; and

(h) in paragraph 2(b) (minimum complex appliance payment – other lenses) for “£33.00” substitute “£33.90”.

Application of regulation 2 of these Regulations

3.  The amendments made by regulation 2(3) to (6) of, and the Schedule to, these Regulations apply only in relation to a voucher accepted or used pursuant to regulation 12 or regulation 17 of the principal Regulations on or after 1st April 2008.

S ROBISON

Authorised to sign by the Scottish Ministers

St Andrew’s House,

Edinburgh

6th March 2008

Regulation 2(5)

SCHEDULE SCHEDULE 2 AS SUBSTITUTED BY THESE REGULATIONS

Regulation 19(2) and (3)

“SCHEDULE 2 VOUCHER VALUES – REPAIR

Column 1	Column 2
Nature of Repair to Appliance	Letter Codes – Values
	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Repair or replacement of one lens	11.05	20.30	32.80	82.50	24.00	32.35	43.90	91.35	84.65
Repair or replacement of two lenses	22.10	40.60	65.60	165.00	48.00	64.70	87.80	182.70	169.30
Repair or replacement of–
the front of a frame	11.35	11.35	11.35	11.35	11.35	11.35	11.35	11.35	11.35
a side of a frame	6.75	6.75	6.75	6.75	6.75	6.75	6.75	6.75	6.75
the whole frame	13.40	13.40	13.40	13.40	13.40	13.40	13.40	13.40	13.40”

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Scotland) Regulations 1998 (“the principal Regulations”) 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 the supply, replacement and repair of optical appliances.

Regulation 2(2) amends the principal Regulations as a consequence of the amendment made in the consolidation of the National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Scotland) Regulations, which come into force on 1st April 2008 (see S.S.I. 2008/27). The amendment to those Regulations was made to recognise and apply different charges according to whether a Scottish prescription form or an equivalent prescription form issued in England, Wales or Northern Ireland is presented by a patient.

Regulation 2(3) amends the principal Regulations to increase the redemption value of a voucher issued towards the cost of replacement of a single contact lens and to increase the maximum contribution by way of a voucher to the cost of repair of a frame.

Regulation 2(4) amends the principal Regulations to increase the value of vouchers towards the cost of the supply and replacement of optical appliances.

Regulation 2(5) amends the principal Regulations to increase the value of vouchers issued towards the cost of the repair and replacement of optical appliances.

Regulation 2(6) amends the principal Regulations to increase the additional values for vouchers for prisms, tints or photochromic lenses and special categories of appliances.

The increases contained in regulation 2(3) to (6) and the Schedule come into force on 1st April 2008. Regulation 3 provides however that those increases only apply in relation to vouchers accepted or used on or after 1st April 2008.

(1)

1978 c. 29; section 26 was amended by the Health and Social Security Act 1984 (c. 48) (“the 1984 Act”), section 1(5) and Schedule 1, Part II, paragraphs 1 to 4 and Schedule 8, the Health and Medicines Act 1988 (c. 49) (“the 1988 Act”), section 13(4) and the Smoking, Health and Social Care (Scotland) Act 2005 (asp 13) (“the 2005 Act”), section 13(2); 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(1) and Schedule 7, the Health and Social Services and Social Security Adjudications Act 1983 (c. 41), Schedule 9, Part I, paragraph 24 and 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) and the 2005 Act, section 13(3). 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; amended by S.I. 1999/748 and S.S.I. 1999/64, 2000/45 and 395, 2001/88, 2002/17, 86 and 224, 2003/218 and 431, 2004/97 and 168, 2005/119, 2006/138 and 2007/192.

(3)

Regulation 8(3)(e) was amended by S.S.I. 2004/168, 2006/138 and 2007/192.

(4)

S.S.I. 2008/27.

(5)

Regulation 19 was amended by S.I. 1999/748 and S.S.I. 2000/45, 2001/88, 2002/86, 2003/218, 2004/97, 2005/119, 2006/138 and 2007/192.

(6)

Schedule 1 was substituted by S.I. 1999/748 and amended by S.S.I. 1999/64, 2000/45, 2001/88, 2002/86, 2003/218, 2004/97 and 168, 2005/119, 2006/138 and 2007/192.

(7)

Schedule 2 was substituted by S.I. 1999/748, S.S.I. 2000/45, 2001/88, 2002/86, 2003/218, 2004/97, 2005/119, 2006/138 and 2007/192.

(8)

Schedule 3 was amended by S.I. 1999/748, S.S.I. 1999/64, 2000/45, 2001/88, 2002/86, 2003/218, 2004/97 and 168, 2005/119, 2006/138 and 2007/192.