The National Health Service (Personal Medical Services Agreements) Regulations 2015

Agreement sanctions

63.—(1) In this paragraph and in paragraph 64, “agreement sanction” means—

(a) termination of specified reciprocal obligations under the agreement;

(b) suspension of specified reciprocal obligations under the agreement for a period of up to six months; or

(c) withholding or deducting monies otherwise payable under the agreement.

(2) Where the Board is entitled to terminate the agreement in accordance with paragraph 57, 58, 59, 61(4) or (6) or 62, it may instead impose any of the agreement sanctions if the Board is reasonably satisfied that the agreement sanction to be imposed is appropriate and proportionate to the circumstances giving rise to the Board’s entitlement to terminate the agreement.

(3) If the Board decides to impose an agreement sanction, the Board must—

(a) give notice in writing to the contractor of the agreement sanction that it proposes to impose and the date upon which that sanction is to be imposed; and

(b) include in the notice an explanation of the effect of the imposition of the sanction.

(4) Subject to paragraph 64, the Board may not impose the agreement sanction until the end of a period of at least 28 days beginning with the date on which the Board gives notice to the contractor under to sub-paragraph (3) unless the Board is satisfied that it is necessary to do so in order to protect—

(a) the safety of the contractor’s patients; or

(b) itself from material financial loss.

(5) Where the Board imposes an agreement sanction, the Board may charge the contractor the reasonable costs of any additional administration that the Board has incurred in order to impose, or as a result of imposing, the agreement sanction.