The National Health Service (Payments for Optical Appliances) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 1988

Statutory Instruments

1988 No. 545 (S.61)

NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, SCOTLAND

The National Health Service (Payments for Optical Appliances) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 1988

Made

18th March 1988

Laid before Parliament

21st March 1988

Coming into force

11th April 1988

The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 26 and 108(1) of, and paragraph 2A of Schedule 11 to, the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978(1), and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (Payments for Optical Appliances) (Scotland) Amendment (No. 2) Regulations 1988 and shall come into force on 11th April 1988.

(2) In these Regulations, “the principal Regulations” means the National Health Service (Payments for Optical Appliances) (Scotland) Regulations 1986(2).

Amendments to the principal Regulations

2.  In regulation 1(2) of the principal Regulations (interpretation)—

(a) after the definition of “the Act” there shall be inserted the following definition:—

““capital limit” means the amount prescribed for the purposes of section 22(6) of the Social Security Act 1986(3)as it applies to income support;”

(b) the definition of “contribution assessment” shall be revoked;

(c) after the definition of “face value” there shall be inserted the following definitions:—

““family credit” means family credit under Part II of the Social Security Act 1986;

“income support” means income support under Part II of the Social Security Act 1986 and includes personal expenses addition, special transitional addition and transitional addition as defined in regulation 2(1) of the Income Support (Transitional) Regulations 1987(4);”

(d) after the definition of “minimum complex appliance payment” there shall be inserted the following definition:—

““notice of entitlement” means a notice issued under regulation 7 of the Remission Regulations for the purposes of remission of charges under the Act;”

(e) for the definition of “patient’s contribution” there shall be substituted the following:—

““patient’s contribution” means the amount specified under regulation 7(5) of the Remission Regulations as that for which there is no entitlement under those Regulations to remission of charges;”

(f) after the definition of “redemption value” there shall be inserted the following definition:—

““the Remission Regulations” means the National Health Service (Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges) (Scotland) Regulations 1988(5);”

3.  In regulation 3 of the principal Regulations (eligibility for payment of costs of optical appliances)—

(a) in paragraph (2), sub-paragraphs (d) and (e) shall be revoked, and after sub-paragraph (f) there shall be added the following:—

“(g) a person whose income resources, as calculated in accordance with regulation 6 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Remission Regulations for the purposes of remission of charges under the Act, are equal to or exceed his requirements as so calculated but whose patient’s contribution is nil or is less than the face value of a voucher issued to him under these Regulations and whose capital resources as so calculated do not exceed the capital limit.”

;

(b) for paragraph (3) there shall be substituted the following:—

“(3) A person’s resources shall be treated as being less than his requirements if—

(a) he is in receipt of income support;

(b) he is a member of the same family as a person who is in receipt of income support;

(c) he is in receipt of family credit;

(d) he is a member of the same family as a person who is in receipt of family credit; or

(e) his income resources, as calculated in accordance with regulation 6 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Remission Regulations for the purposes of remission of charges under the Act, are less than his requirements as so calculated and his capital resources as so calculated do not exceed the capital limit.

(3A) In paragraph (3)(b) and (3)(d) the word “family” has the meaning assigned to it by section 20(11) of the Social Security Act 1986 as it applies to income support and to family credit respectively(6).”.

4.  In regulation 6 of the principal Regulations (use of voucher)—

(a) in paragraph (4)—

(i) for the words “regulation 3(3)(c)” there shall be substituted the words “regulation 3(2)(g), or by virtue of his resources being treated in accordance with regulation 3(3)(e) as being less than his requirements,”;

(ii) for the words “contribution assessment” there shall be substituted the words “notice of entitlement”;

(b) for paragraph (5) there shall be substituted the following:—

“(5) A patient who is an eligible person only by virtue of regulation 3(2)(g), or only by virtue of his resources being treated in accordance with regulation 3(3)(e) as being less than his requirements, shall, on the same occasion as he presents the supplier with a voucher in accordance with paragraph (1), show a current notice of entitlement to the supplier and permit him to copy such details as may be required for the purposes of regulation 7(2)(c)(iii).”.

5.  In regulation 7 of the principal Regulations (payments to suppliers)—

(a) in paragraph (1) for the words “The responsible Board” there shall be substituted the words “Except where it was the supplier, the responsible Board”;

(b) in paragraph (2)(c)—

(i) in head (ii) after the words “responsible Board” there shall be inserted the words “within the period of three months beginning with the date of supply of the optical appliance”;

(ii) for head (iii) there shall be substituted the following:—

“(iii) where the patient has shown a notice of entitlement to him, informed the responsible Board of the amount of the patient’s contribution, if any.”.

6.  In regulation 8 of the principal Regulations (payments to patients where vouchers issued in connection with hospital eye service)—

(a) in paragraph (1)(a) for the words “regulation 3(3)(c)” there shall be substituted the words “regulation 3(2)(g), or by virtue of his resources being treated in accordance with regulation 3(3)(e) as being less than his requirements”;

(b) in paragraphs (1)(b) and (2)(a) for the words “contribution assessment” there shall be substituted in each case the words “notice of entitlement”;

(c) in paragraph (2)(c)—

(i) for the words “six months” there shall be substituted the words “one month”;

(ii) for head (ii) there shall be substituted the following:—

“(ii) a statement of the amount of his patient’s contribution, if any, and”.

7.  In regulation 9 of the principal Regulations (redemption value of voucher), in paragraph (2) for the words “regulation 3(3)(c)” there shall be substituted the words “regulation 3(2)(g)”.

Savings and transitional provisions

8.—(1) Nothing in these Regulations shall prevent the use of a voucher duly issued to a person before 11th April 1988 in accordance with the principal Regulations.

(2) A contribution assessment issued before 11th April 1988, pursuant to regulation 6(4) and (5) of the principal Regulations, to a person to whom a voucher was issued before that date may be used in accordance with the provisions of the principal Regulations as in force immediately before that date.

(3) A person who, immediately before 11th April 1988, was an eligible person for the purposes of the principal Regulations by virtue of the issue to him of an exemption certificate pursuant to regulation 7(1)(i) of the National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Scotland) Regulations 1980(7)shall continue to be an eligible person for those purposes for so long as that certificate remains in force.

(4) Regulation 5(b)(i) of these Regulations shall not affect a claim for payment under regulation 7 of the principal Regulations insofar as it relates to the supply of an optical appliance before 11th April 1988.

(5) Notwithstanding regulation 6(c)(i) of these Regulations, an application under regulation 8(2)(c) of the principal Regulations for a payment in respect of an optical appliance supplied before 11th April 1988 may be made within six months of the date of its supply.

Revocation

9.  Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations is hereby revoked.

Michael B Forsyth

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Scottish Office

New St Andrew’s House,

Edinburgh

18th March 1988

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the National Health Service (Payments for Optical Appliances) (Scotland) Regulations 1986 which provide for payments to be made, by means of a voucher system, in respect of the cost incurred by certain categories of persons for the supply of optical appliances following a testing of sight under the National Health Service in Scotland.

These Regulations substitute some categories of persons eligible for vouchers. Eligibility for those entitled to supplementary benefit, family income supplement, welfare food or exemption from prescription charges, and for those entitled under a special means test is replaced by eligibility for those entitled to income support or to family credit (which replace supplementary benefit and family income supplement respectively) or to full or partial remission of certain National Health Service charges.

These Regulations make other associated minor changes and contain savings and transitional provisions. They also impose a requirement on a supplier who has accepted a voucher in connection with the supply of an optical appliance to submit his claim for reimbursement within three months of the supply (regulation 5(b)(i)), and alter (from six months to one month after the supply of the optical appliance) the period within which patients whose sight has been tested under Hospital Eye Service arrangements may, in certain circumstances, apply for refunds in respect of unused vouchers (regulation 6(c)(i)).

(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; Schedule 11, paragraph 2A was inserted by the 1984 Act, Schedule 1, Part II, paragraph 7; see section 108(1) for definitions of “prescribed” and “regulations”.

(2)

S.I. 1986/966, amended by S.I. 1986/1192 and 1988/463

(3)

1986 c. 50; regulation 45 of the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987 (S.I. 1987/1967) has prescribed the amount of £6,000 as the capital limit.

(4)

S.I. 1987/1969

(5)

S.I. 1988/546

(6)

See S.I. 1987/1967, regulations 14 to 16 and S.I. 1987/1973, regulations 6 to 9.

(7)

S.I. 1980/1674, to which there are amendments not relevant to these Regulations.