The National Health Service and Public Health (Functions and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2013

PART 1 General

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service and Public Health (Functions and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2013, and come into force on 1st April 2013.

(2) In these Regulations—

“the 2006 Act” means the National Health Service Act 2006;

“the 2012 Act” means the Health and Social Care Act 2012;

“the Board” means the National Health Service Commissioning Board(1);

“CCG” means clinical commissioning group(2).

PART 2 Exercise of EU functions by the Board

Interpretation of Part 2

2.—(1) In this Part—

(a) “Article 20” and “Article 27(3)” respectively mean Article 20 and Article 27(3) of Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 (authorisation for treatment in another Member State)(3);

(b) a CCG has responsibility for a person if in relation to the service that is the subject of an application as mentioned in regulation 4, it is responsible for that person under or by virtue of section 3 or 3A of the 2006 Act (duties of clinical commissioning groups as to commissioning certain health services and power of clinical commissioning groups to commission certain health services)(4).

(2) “working day” means any day except a Saturday, a Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a day which is a bank holiday in England under section 1 of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971(5) and any application or information received on a day that is not a working day is to be treated as having been received on the next working day.

Exercise of functions

3.  The following functions of the Secretary of State are to be exercised by the Board—

(a) functions under sections 6A and 6B of the 2006 Act (prior authorisation of and reimbursement of costs of services provided in another EEA state);

(b) functions exercisable for the purposes of Article 20 or Article 27(3).

Procedure for applications

4.—(1) The Board must establish and publish procedures for the determination of applications—

(a) for reimbursement of costs of services under section 6A of the 2006 Act;

(b) for prior authorisation of treatment under section 6B of the 2006 Act; and

(c) for prior authorisation of treatment pursuant to Article 20 or Article 27(3).

(2) The procedures for the determination of such applications must include provision for a review of the determination by the Board.

(3) The Board must publish—

(a) information about the procedures the Board has in place for reimbursement under section 6A of the 2006 Act and prior authorisation under section 6B of the 2006 Act or pursuant to Article 20 or Article 27(3);

(b) a copy of the form in which an application must be made; and

(c) a description of the information to be supplied in support of an application.

Time for determination of an application

5.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Board must determine an application before the end of the period of 20 working days beginning on the day the Board receives the application.

(2) If the application does not contain sufficient information to enable the Board to determine the application, the Board must, before the end of the period of 10 working days beginning with the day on which it receives the application, inform the applicant of the information it needs to determine the application.

(3) Where the additional information referred to in paragraph (2) is supplied by the applicant, the Board must determine the application before the end of the period of 10 working days beginning with the day it receives the information requested.

Form and content of determination

6.—(1) The Board must inform the applicant in writing of its determination of the application.

(2) Paragraph (3) applies if the determination is not—

(a) to reimburse the full amount claimed by the applicant under section 6A of the 2006 Act;

(b) to give prior authorisation for treatment under section 6B of the 2006 Act; or

(c) to give prior authorisation for treatment pursuant to Article 20 or Article 27(3).

(3) The determination must—

(a) set out the information considered by the Board in reaching its determination;

(b) the reasons for its determination; and

(c) the steps an applicant must take if the applicant disagrees with the decision and wishes to request a review of the determination by the Board.

CCGs

7.—(1) This regulation applies if a patient for whom a CCG has responsibility makes an application to the Board as mentioned in regulation 4.

(2) The CCG must, not later than the end of the period of 7 working days beginning on the day it receives a request for information from the Board—

(a) provide the Board with the information requested, or

(b) tell the Board that it does not have the information requested.

(3) Paragraph (4) applies if—

(a) the Board reimburses the patient under section 6A of the 2006 Act in respect of qualifying EEA expenditure within the meaning of that section, and

(b) the CCG would have been responsible for meeting the cost if the same or equivalent service had been made available to the patient under the 2006 Act.

(4) The CCG must reimburse the Board for the amount reimbursed by the Board to the patient.

Applications made before 1st April 2013

8.—(1) This regulation applies to an application under section 6A or 6B of the Act which is—

(a) made to a Primary Care Trust before 1st April 2013, and

(b) not determined before that date.

(2) The application must be treated as if it is an application made to the Board on or after 1st April 2013.

PART 3 Notification of births and deaths

Relevant bodies

9.  The relevant bodies for the purposes of section 269(2) and (4) of the 2006 Act (special notices of births and deaths), are—

(a) the Board;

(b) a local authority(6) whose area includes the whole or part of the registrar’s sub-district; and

(c) a CCG whose area coincides with or includes the whole or part of the registrar’s sub-district.

Manner and time for furnishing particulars

10.—(1) The registrar must furnish the particulars of each birth and death entered in a register of births or deaths kept by the registrar for that sub-district, to each of the relevant bodies specified in regulation 9, by no later than 14 days from the date on which they are entered in that register.

(2) Particulars furnished under paragraph (1) must be provided in writing.

Person to whom particulars of birth or death are to be given

11.  Particulars furnished under regulation 10 must be given, in the case of—

(a) the Board, to a person nominated for these purposes by the chief executive of the Board;

(b) a local authority, to the director of public health for the authority(7);

(c) a CCG, to a person nominated for these purposes by the accountable officer(8) of the CCG.

Revocation

12.  The National Health Service (Notification of Births and Deaths) Regulations 1982(9) are revoked in relation to England.

PART 4 CCG joint exercise of functions with Local Health Boards

Functions of a CCG exercisable jointly with a Local Health Board

13.  The functions of a CCG exercisable under the provisions listed in the Schedule may, subject to such restrictions and conditions as the CCG considers appropriate, be exercised jointly with a Local Health Board.

Joint committees of a CCG and a Local Health Board

14.  Any of the functions of a CCG that may be exercisable by a CCG jointly with a Local Health Board under regulation 13 may be exercised by a joint committee of the CCG and the Local Health Board.

PART 5 Staff transfer schemes

Prescribed public authorities

15.  For the purposes of the seventh and sixteenth entries in column 2 of the Table in Schedule 23 to the 2012 Act (staff transfer schemes - permitted transferees), the prescribed public authorities exercising functions in relation to health are—

(a) a National Health Service trust established under section 25 of the 2006 Act (NHS Trusts); and

(b) an NHS foundation trust established under section 30 of the 2006 Act (NHS foundation trusts).

PART 6 Mental health

Amendment of the Mental Health Act 1983 (Independent Mental Health Advocates) (England) Regulations 2008

16.—(1) The Mental Health Act 1983 (Independent Mental Health Advocates) (England) Regulations 2008(10) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 2 (interpretation)—

(a) for the definition of “commissioning body” substitute—

““commissioning body” means a local social services authority whose area is in England;”; and

(b) for the definition of “section 130A functions” substitute—

““section 130A functions” means the functions under section 130A of the Act of a local social services authority whose area is in England.”.

(3) For regulation 3 (directions in respect of section 130A functions), substitute—

“3    Circumstances in which a person may be appointed to be an Independent Mental Health Advocate

(1) A commissioning body, in exercising section 130A functions, may enter into arrangements to appoint an individual to act as an IMHA only if the commissioning body is satisfied that the conditions set out in regulation 6 are satisfied.

(2) A commissioning body, in exercising section 130A functions, may enter into arrangements with a provider of advocacy services only if such arrangements include a term that the provider is satisfied that the conditions set out in regulation 6 are satisfied in respect of an individual made available by the provider to act as an IMHA.

(3) A commissioning body may only enter into the arrangements described in paragraphs (1) or (2) above where it has had due regard to the diverse circumstances (including but not limited to the ethnic, cultural and demographic needs) of qualifying patients.”

(4) Omit regulation 4 (amendment of the NHS Bodies and Local Authorities Partnership Arrangements Regulations 2000(11)).

(5) Omit regulation 5 (amendment of the National Health Service (Functions of Strategic Health Authorities and Primary Care Trusts and Administration Arrangements) (England) Regulations 2002(12)).

Prescribed CCG for the purposes of section 236 of the 2006 Act

17.  The CCG prescribed for the purposes of section 236 of the 2006 Act (payments for certain medical examinations), for the purpose of paying a medical practitioner who carries out a medical examination of any person with a view to an application for admission to hospital for assessment or treatment being made under Part 2 of the Mental Health Act 1983, is as follows—

(a) where the person examined is usually resident in the area of a CCG, the CCG for that area;

(b) where sub-paragraph (a) does not apply, the CCG for the area in which the person was examined.

PART 7 Amendments to the National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) Regulations 2012

Interpretation of Part 7

18.  In this Part—

“the Principal Regulations” means the National Health Service Commissioning Board and Clinical Commissioning Groups (Responsibilities and Standing Rules) Regulations 2012(13).

Amendment of regulation 5 of the Principal Regulations

19.  In regulation 5 of the Principal Regulations (interpretation of Part 3)—

(a) after the definition of “emergency services”, insert the following definition—

““mandatory dental services” means dental services which are equivalent in nature to services which must be provided under a general dental services contract by virtue of provision in regulation 14 of the National Health Services (General Dental Services Contracts) Regulations 2005 (mandatory services);”(14); and

(b) after the definition of “secondary care services”, insert the following definition—

““sedation services” means a course of treatment provided to a patient in connection with the provision to that patient of mandatory dental services during which the provider of that treatment administers one or more drugs to the patient which produce a state of depression of the central nervous system to enable treatment to be carried out, and during and in respect of that period of sedation—

(a)

the drugs and techniques used to provide the sedation are deployed by the provider of the treatment in a manner that ensures loss of consciousness is rendered unlikely; and

(b)

verbal contact with the patient is maintained in so far as is reasonably possible;”.

Amendment of regulation 10 of the Principal Regulations

20.  In regulation 10 of the Principal Regulations (services for prisoners and other detainees)—

(a) in paragraph (1), for sub-paragraph (a) substitute the following sub-paragraph—

“(a) community services (including mandatory dental services and sedation services);”; and

(b) in paragraph (2)(e), delete the words “(except Ashfield Young Offender Institution)”.

PART 8 Public health

Amendment of the NHS Bodies and Local Authorities (Partnership Arrangements, Care Trusts, Public Health and Local Healthwatch) Regulations 2012

21.  In regulation 14 of the NHS Bodies and Local Authorities (Partnership Arrangements, Care Trusts, Public Health and Local Healthwatch) Regulations 2012(15) (responsibilities of directors of public health), after paragraph (b) insert—

“(c) any of the authority’s functions arising from its duty to provide, or arrange the provision of, healthy start vitamins under regulation 8A of the Healthy Start Scheme and Welfare Food (Amendment) Regulations 2005.”(16).

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Health.

Earl Howe

Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,

Department of Health

11th February 2013