The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Amendment Regulations 2007

Statutory Instruments

2007 No. 542

national health service, england

The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Amendment Regulations 2007

Made

22nd February 2007

Laid before Parliament

2nd March 2007

Coming into force

1st April 2007

The Secretary of State for Health makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 126(4) of, and paragraph 2A of Schedule 12 to, the National Health Service Act 1977(1).

Citation, commencement, interpretation and application

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Amendment Regulations 2007 and shall come into force on 1st April 2007.

(2) These Regulations apply in relation to England.

(3) In these Regulations “the Optical Regulations” means the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations 1997(2).

Amendment to the Optical Regulations

2.  In regulation 19 (redemption value of voucher for replacement or repair)—

(a) in paragraph (1)(b), for “£49.20” substitute “£50.50”; and

(b) in paragraph (3), for “£12.70” substitute “£13.00”.

Amendments to the Schedules to the Optical Regulations

3.—(1) In Schedule 1 to the Optical Regulations (voucher letter codes and face values-supply and replacement) in column (3) of the table (face value of voucher), for each amount specified in column (1) of the table below substitute the amount specified in relation to it in column (2) of the table below.

(1) Old amount	(2) New amount
£33.70	£34.60
£51.20	£52.60
£74.90	£76.90
£169.10	£173.70
£58.20	£59.80
£74.00	£76.00
£95.90	£98.50
£185.90	£190.90
£173.20	£177.90
£49.20	£50.50

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

(a) in paragraph 1(1)(a), for “£11.00” substitute “£11.30”;

(b) in paragraph (1)(1)(b), for “£13.10” substitute “£13.50”;

(c) in paragraph 1(1)(c), for “£3.70” substitute “£3.80”;

(d) in paragraph 1(1)(d), for “£4.20” substitute “£4.30”;

(e) in paragraph 1(1)(e), for “£55.50”, “£49.20” and “£26.60” substitute “£57.00”, “£50.50” and “£27.30” respectively;

(f) in paragraph 1(1)(g), for “£55.50” substitute “£57.00”;

(g) in paragraph 2(a), for “£12.70” substitute “£13.00”; and

(h) in paragraph 2(b), for “£32.10” substitute “£33.00”.

(3) For Schedule 3 to the Optical Regulations (voucher values-repair), substitute the Schedule 3 set out in the Schedule to these Regulations.

Transitional Provision

4.  The amounts substituted by regulations 2 and 3 shall apply only in relation to a voucher accepted or used pursuant to regulation 12 or regulation 17 of the Optical Regulations on or after 1st April 2007.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Health

Rosie Winterton

Minister of State,

Department of Health

22nd February 2007

Regulation 3(3)

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

Regulation 19(2) and (3)

“SCHEDULE 3 VOUCHER VALUES REPAIR

(1) Nature of Repair	(2) Letter of Codes - Values
	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Repair or replacement of one lens	10.80	19.80	31.95	80.35	23.40	31.50	42.75	88.95	82.45
Repair or replacement of two lenses	21.60	39.60	63.90	160.70	46.80	63.00	85.50	177.90	164.90
Repair or replacement of:
The front of a frame	11.05	11.05	11.05	11.05	11.05	11.05	11.05	11.05	11.05
A side of a frame	6.55	6.55	6.55	6.55	6.55	6.55	6.55	6.55	6.55
The whole frame	13.00	13.00	13.00	13.00	13.00	13.00	13.00	13.00	13.00.”

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

These Regulations amend the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations 1997 (“the Optical 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 amends regulation 19 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 voucher to the cost of repair of a frame.

Regulation 3 and the Schedule amend the Schedules to the Optical Regulations to increase the value of vouchers issued towards the costs of the supply and replacement of glasses and contact lenses, to increase the additional values for vouchers for prisms, tints, photochromic lenses and special categories of appliances and to increase the value of vouchers issued towards the cost of the repair and replacement of optical appliances. The rate of increase in the value of vouchers in these Regulations is approximately 2.7%.

These Regulations do not impose a cost on business.

(1)

c. 49; section 126(4) was amended by the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c.19), section 65(2); the Health Act 1999 (c.8), section 65(1) and Schedule 4, paragraphs 3 and 37; the Health and Social Care Act 2001 (c.15), section 67(1) and Schedule 5, paragraph 5; the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002 (c.15) sections 6(3)(c) and 37(1) and Schedule 8, paragraphs 1 and 10; and the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 (c.43), sections 184 and 196 and Schedule 4, paragraphs 3 and 37. Paragraph 2A of Schedule 12 was inserted by the Health and Social Security Act 1984 (c.48), section 1(6) and paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 and amended by the Health and Medicines Act1988 (c.49), section 13.

(2)

S.I. 1997/818; amended by S.I. 1999/609, 2000/5934, 2001/414, 3066 and 3323, 2002/547 and 1306, 2003/657 and 2381, 2004/642, 936 and 1138, 2005/818 and 2006/479 and 3123.