Health and Social Care Act 2012

83 Exemption regulations

(1) Regulations (referred to in this section and section 84 as “exemption regulations”) may provide for the grant of exemptions from the requirement under section 81 in respect of—

(a) a prescribed person or persons of a prescribed description;

(b) the provision of a prescribed health care service or a health care service of a prescribed description.

(2) Exemption regulations may grant an exemption—

(a) either generally or to the extent prescribed;

(b) either unconditionally or subject to prescribed conditions;

(c) indefinitely, for a prescribed period or for a period determined by or under the exemption.

(3) Conditions subject to which an exemption may be granted include, in particular, conditions requiring any person providing a service pursuant to the exemption—

(a) to comply with any direction given by Monitor about such matters as are specified in the exemption or are of a description so specified,

(b) except to the extent that Monitor otherwise approves, to do, or not to do, such things as are specified in the exemption or are of a description so specified (or to do, or not to do, such things in a specified manner), and

(c) to refer for determination by Monitor such questions arising under the exemption as are specified in the exemption or are of a description so specified.

(4) Before making exemption regulations the Secretary of State must give notice to—

(a) Monitor,

(b) the National Health Service Commissioning Board, and

(c) the Care Quality Commission and its Healthwatch England committee.

(5) The Secretary of State must also publish a notice under subsection (4).

(6) A notice under subsection (4) must—

(a) state that the Secretary of State proposes to make exemption regulations and set out their proposed effect,

(b) set out the Secretary of State’s reasons for the proposal, and

(c) specify the period (“the notice period”) within which representations with respect to the proposal may be made.

(7) The notice period must be not less than 28 days beginning with the day after that on which the notice is published under subsection (5).

(8) Where an exemption is granted the Secretary of State—

(a) if the exemption is granted to a prescribed person, must give notice of it to that person, and

(b) must publish the exemption.