The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Amendment Regulations 1991

Statutory Instruments

1991 No. 1680

NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, ENGLAND AND WALES

The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Amendment Regulations 1991

Made

23rd July 1991

Laid before Parliament

24th July 1991

Coming into force

1st August 1991

The Secretary of State for Health, in exercise of powers conferred by section 126(4) of, and paragraph 2A of Schedule 12 to, the National Health Service Act 1977(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 (Optical Charges and Payments) Amendment Regulations 1991 and shall come into force on 1st August 1991.

(2) In these Regulations, “the principal Regulations” means the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations 1989(2).

Amendment of regulation 20 of the principal Regulations

2.  In regulation 20 of the principal Regulations (redemption value of voucher for replacement or repair)–

(a) in paragraph (1)(b) for “£32.15” there is substituted “£32.80”; and

(b) in paragraph (3) for “£8.20” there is substituted “£8.40”.

Amendment of Schedules to the principal Regulations

3.—(1) In Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations (voucher letter codes and face values – supply and replacement) in column 3 (face value of voucher) for each amount specified in column 1 of the Table below (old amount) there is substituted the amount specified in relation to it in column 2 of that Table (new amount).

TABLE

Column 1 Old Amount	Column 2 New Amount
£19.30	£19.70
£30.50	£31.15
£48.00	£49.00
£37.00	£37.80
£61.00	£52.30
£102.00 (in both places where it appears)	£104.20
£32.15	£32.80

(2) In Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations (prisms, tints, photochromic lenses, small and special glasses and complex appliances)–

(a) in paragraph 1(1)(a) (prism – single vision lens) for “£4.10” there is substituted “£4.20”;

(b) in paragraph 1(1)(b) (prism – other lens) for “£5.10” there is substituted “£5.20”;

(c) in paragraph 1(1)(c) (single vision tinted lens) for “£2.05” there is substituted “£2.10”;

(d) in paragraph 1(1)(d) (other tinted lens) for “£2.55” there is substituted “£2.60”;

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

(i) in sub-head (i) for “£35.20” there is substituted “£36.00”,

(ii) in sub-head (ii) for “£31.30” there is substituted “£32.00”, and

(iii) in sub-head (iii) for “£16.90” there is substituted “£17.30”;

(f) in paragraph 1(1)(f ) (photochromic lenses) for “£2.05” there is substituted “£2.10” and for “£2.55” there is substituted “£2.60”;

(g) in paragraph 1(1)(g) (specially manufactured frames) for “£35.20” there is substituted “£36.00”;

(h) in paragraph 2(a) (minimum complex appliance payment – single vision lenses) for “£3.60” there is substituted “£3.70”; and

(i) in paragraph 2(b) (minimum complex appliance payment – other lenses) for “£19.25” there is substituted “£19.70”.

(3) For Schedule 3 to the principal Regulations (voucher values – repair) there is substituted the Schedule 3 set out in the Schedule to these Regulations.

Application of Regulations

4.  The amendments made by regulations 2 and 3 of, and the Schedule to, these Regulations apply only in relation to a voucher–

(a) accepted or used on or after 1st August 1991 pursuant to regulation 12 or regulation 18 of the principal Regulations; or

(b) sent to a health authority pursuant to regulation 14(2)(c) of the principal Regulations in respect of cost incurred on or after that date.

William Waldegrave

Secretary of State for Health

23rd July 1991

Regulation 3(3)

SCHEDULE SCHEDULE 3 TO THE PRINCIPAL REGULATIONS AS SUBSTITUTED BY THESE REGULATIONS

Regulation 20(2) and (3)

SCHEDULE 3 VOUCHER VALUES – REPAIR

1	2
	Letter Codes – Values
Nature of repair to applicance	A	B	C	D	E	F and G
	£	£	£	£	£	£
Repair or replacement of one lens	5.65	11.40	20.30	14.70	26.95	47.90
Repair or replacement of two lenses	11.30	22.75	40.60	29.40	53.90	95.80
Repair or replacement of– the front of a frame	7.45	7.45	7.45	7.45	7.45	7.45
a side of a frame	4.10	4.10	4.10	4.10	4.10	4.10
the whole frame	8.40	8.40	8.40	8.40	8.40	8.40

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations 1989 (“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.

These Regulations amend Schedule 1 to, and substitute a new Schedule 3 in, the principal Regulations to increase by an average of 2.13 per cent. the value of vouchers issued in respect of the cost of the supply and replacement of glasses and contact lenses (regulation 3(1)) and of the repair and replacement of appliances (regulation 3(3) and the Schedule). Regulation 2 makes consequential amendments to regulation 20 of the principal Regulations (redemption value of voucher for replacement or repair). Regulation 3(2) increases the additional values for vouchers in respect of prisms, tints, photochromic lenses and special categories of appliances.

(1)

1977 c. 49; in section 128(1) see the definitions of and Section 126(4) was amended by the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19), section 65(2). Paragraph 2A of Schedule 12 was inserted by the Health and Social Security Act 1984 (c. 48), Schedule 1, Part I, paragraph 3 and amended by section 13(2) and (3) of the Health and Medicines Act 1988 (c. 49).

(2)

S.I. 1989/396, amended by S.I. 1990/495 and S.I. 1991/583.