Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972

[F12A.—(1) The Department shall by regulations provide for payments to be made by the Department F2... or the Agency to meet, or to contribute towards, the cost incurred (whether by way of charge under this Order or otherwise) for the supply of optical appliances for which a prescription has been given in consequence of a testing of sight under this Order—N.I.

(a)for a child;

(b)for a person whose resources fall to be treated under the regulations as being less than his requirements; or

(c)for a person of such other description as may be prescribed

[F3or for which a prescription has been given for a person such as is mentioned in head (a), (b) or (c) in consequence of a testing of sight (not being a testing of sight under this Order) which took place in prescribed circumstances].

(2) In sub-paragraph (1), “child” means—

(a)a person who is under the age of 16 years; or

(b)a person who is under the age of 19 years and receiving qualifying full-time education.

(3) In sub-paragraph (2), “qualifying full-time education” means full-time instruction—

(a)at an educational establishment recognised by the Department as being, or as comparable to, a school, college or university; or

(b)by other means accepted as comparable by the Department;

and for the purposes of this paragraph regulations may prescribe the circumstances in which a person is or is not to be treated as receiving full-time instruction.

[F3(4) The Department may by regulations—

(a)provide for the Department F4... or the Agency to contribute to the cost of a testing of sight which the Department, F5... or the Agency accepts as having been incurred by a person whose resources fall to be treated under the regulations as exceeding his requirements but only by an amount calculated under the regulations;

(b)provide for payments to be made by the Department F4... or the Agency to meet, or to contribute towards, any costs accepted by the Department, F5... or the Agency as having been incurred (whether by way of charge under this Order or otherwise) for the replacement or repair in prescribed circumstances of optical appliances for which a prescription was given in consequence of a testing of sight of a person of a prescribed description; and

(c)direct how a person's resources and requirements are to be calculated and, without prejudice to the generality of this head, give any such direction as to how they are to be calculated as may be given by regulations under paragraph 1B(2).

(4A) Descriptions of person may be prescribed under this paragraph by reference to any criterion and, without prejudice to the generality of this sub‐paragraph, by reference to any of the criteria specied in paragraph 1B(1).

(4B) Sub‐paragraph (3) of paragraph 1B shall have effect in relation to regulations under this paragraph as it has effect in relation to regulations under that paragraph.]]