Health and Social Care Act 2012

120 Responses to consultation

(1) If Monitor receives objections from one or more clinical commissioning groups or relevant providers to a method it proposes under section 118(3)(b), Monitor may not publish the national tariff unless—

(a) the conditions in subsection (2) are met, or

(b) where those conditions are not met, Monitor has made a reference to the Competition Commission.

(2) The conditions referred to in subsection (1)(a) are that—

(a) the objection percentage for clinical commissioning groups is less than the prescribed percentage,

(b) the objection percentage for relevant providers is less than the prescribed percentage, and

(c) the share of supply percentage is less than such percentage as may be prescribed.

(3) In subsection (2)—

(a) the “objection percentage” is the proportion (expressed as a percentage) of clinical commissioning groups or (as the case may be) relevant providers who objected to the proposed method, and

(b) the “share of supply percentage” is the proportion (expressed as a percentage) of relevant providers who objected to the proposed method, weighted according to their share of the supply in England of such services as may be prescribed.

(4) A reference under subsection (1)(b) must require the Competition Commission to determine whether the method proposed under section 118(3)(b) is appropriate.

(5) The functions of the Competition Commission with respect to a reference under this section are not to be regarded as general functions of its for the purposes of Part 2 of Schedule 7 to the Competition Act 1998; instead, Schedule 12 to this Act (procedure on a reference under this section) has effect.

(6) Regulations prescribing a percentage for the purposes of subsection (2)(c) may include provision prescribing the method used for determining a relevant provider’s share of the supply in England of the services concerned.

(7) In this section and section 121 and Schedule 12, “relevant provider” has the meaning given in section 118(14).