The National Health Service (Fund-holding Amendment Regulations 1998 Practices)

Accelerated change of status

12.—(1) In regulation 1 of the principal Regulations (citation, commencement and interpretation), in paragraph (9), at the beginning insert “Subject to regulation 10A(2) and (6),”.

(2) After regulation 10 of the principal Regulations insert the following regulation—

“Accelerated change of status to GP commissioning group

10A.— (1) This regulation makes additional provision for a standard fund-holding practice or a community fund-holding practice to become a GP commissioning group.

(2) A standard fund-holding practice or a community fund-holding practice may apply, by sending an application to the Health Authority not later than 30th June 1998, to become a GP commissioning group, and for the purposes of this paragraph an application may be sent by fax.

(3) Subject to the provisions of this regulation such an application (if granted) shall take effect on the date when it was granted or (if later) on the date when the conditions referred to in paragraph (4) are met.

(4) Those conditions are—

(a) that the applicant fund-holding practice surrender to the Health Authority any part of the allotted sum for the financial year 1998-99 which remains in the fund-holding account which is not required for meeting liabilities of the practice arising out of obligations assumed before the application under this regulation was granted; and

(b) that the applicant fund-holding practice notify the Health Authority that they are prepared to accept the amount specified in the notice referred to in regulation 18(3) (as applied with modifications by paragraph (7) of this regulation) as their proposed allotted sum for the financial year 1998-99.

(5) As respects the liabilities referred to in paragraph (4)(a), the members of the fund-holding practice shall continue to apply that part of the allotted sum not surrendered to the Health Authority as if they had not become a GP commissioning group.

(6) Regulation 3 (except for paragraph (4)), regulation 5(1), and regulation 6 shall apply to such an application as they apply to an application for recognition as a fund-holding practice, but as if the references in those regulations—

(a) to an application were references to an application under this regulation; and

(b) to the grant or refusal of recognition were references to the grant or refusal of an application under this regulation,

and for the purposes of this regulation any notice referred to in those regulations may be sent by fax or by electronic mail.

(7) The allotted sum for the financial year 1998-99 of a GP commissioning group resulting from a successful application under this regulation shall be determined anew in accordance with regulation 18, but as if—

(a) the references in that regulation to a fund-holding practice or a recognised fund-holding practice were to a practice whose application under this regulation had been granted; and

(b) the words “, by 28th February in any year,” were omitted from paragraph (2).”.

(3) In regulation 18 (determination of allotted sum), in paragraph (1), at the beginning insert “Subject to regulation 10A,”.