The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Amendment Regulations 1998

Statutory Instruments

1998 No. 499

NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, ENGLAND AND WALES

The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Amendment Regulations 1998

Made

3rd March 1998

Laid before Parliament

9th March 1998

Coming into force

1st April 1998

The Secretary of State for Health, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 126(4) of, and paragraph 2A of Schedule 12 to, the National Health Service Act 1977(1) and of all other powers enabling him in that behalf, hereby makes the following Regulations—

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Amendment Regulations 1998 and shall come into force on 1st April 1998.

(2) In these Regulations, “the principal Regulations” means the National Health Service (Optimal Charges and Payments) Regulations 1997(2).

Amendment of regulation 19 of the principal Regulations

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

(a) in paragraph (1)(b), for “£39.80” substitute “£40.90”; and

(b) in paragraph (3), for “£10.20” substitute “£10.50”.

Amendment of the Schedules to the principal Regulations

3.—(1) In Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations (voucher letter codes and face values—supply and replacement) in column (3) (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 that table.

TABLE

(1)	(2)
Old amount	New amount
£27.20	£28.00
£41.30	£42.50
£56.30	£57.90
£110.60	£113.70
£46.90	£48.20
£59.70	£61.40
£71.90	£73.90
£121.60 (in both places where it appears)	£125.00
£39.80	£40.90

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

(a) in paragraph 1(1)(a) (prism—single vision lens), for “£5.30” substitute “£5.40”;

(b) in paragraph 1(1)(b) (prism—other lens), for “£6.50” substitute “£6.70”;

(c) in paragraph 1(1)(c) (single vision tinted lens), for “£2.80” substitute “£2.90”;

(d) in paragraph 1(1)(d) (other tinted lens), for “£3.30” substitute “£3.40”;

(e) in paragraph 1(1)(e) (small glasses), for “£44.80” substitute “£46.10”, for “£39.80” substitute “£40.90”, and for “£21.50” substitute “£22.10”;

(f) in paragraph 1(1)(f) (photochromic lenses), for “£2.80” substitute “£2.90” and for “£3.30” substitute “£3.40”;

(g) in paragraph 1(1)(g) (specially manufactured frames), for “£44.80” substitute “£46.10”;

(h) in paragraph 2(a) (minimum complex appliance payment—single vision lenses), for “£4.50” substitute “£4.60”; and

(i) in paragraph 2(b) (minimum complex appliance payment—other lenses), for “£24.10” substitute “£24.80”.

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

Application of these Regulations

4.  The amendments made by these Regulations apply only in relation to a voucher accepted or used pursuant to regulation 12 or regulation 17 of the principal Regulations on or after 1st April 1998.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Health

Alan Milburn

Minister of State,

Department of Health

3rd March 1998

Regulation 3(3)

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

Regulations 19(2) and (3)

“SCHEDULE 3 VOUCHER VALUES—REPAIRS

(1) Nature of Repair	(2) Letter Codes—Values
	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H&I
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Repair or replacement of one lens	8.70	16.00	23.70	51.60	18.90	25.40	31.70	57.20
Repair or replacement of two lenses	17.50	32.10	47.50	103.20	37.80	50.80	63.40	114.50
Repair or replacement of—
the front of a frame	9.00	9.00	9.00	9.00	9.00	9.00	9.00	9.00
a side of a frame	5.30	5.30	5.30	5.30	5.30	5.30	5.30	5.30
the whole frame	10.50	10.50	10.50	10.50	10.50	10.50	10.50	10.50”

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations further amend the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations 1997 (“the principal 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 of the principal Regulations (redemption value of voucher for replacement or repair) to increase the value of an optical voucher issued towards the cost of replacing a single contact lens, and to increase the maximum contribution by way of voucher to the cost of repairing a frame.

Regulation 3(1) amends Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations to increase the value of vouchers issued towards the cost of the supply and replacement of glasses and contact lenses.

Regulation 3(2) amends Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations to increase the additional values for vouchers for prisms, tints, photochromic lenses and special categories of appliances.

Regulation 3(3) and the Schedule substitute a new Schedule 3 in the principal Regulations to increase the value of vouchers issued towards the cost of the repair and replacement of optical appliances.

The rate of increase is, on average, approximately 2.8%.

(1)

1977 c. 49; see section 128(1) as amended by the National Health Service and Community Care Act 1990 (c. 19) (“the 1990 Act”), section 26(2)(g) and (i), for the definitions of “prescribed” and “regulations”. Section 126(4) was amended by the 1990 Act, section 65(2). Paragraph 2A of Schedule 12 was inserted by the Health and Social Security Act 1984 (c. 48), Schedule 1, Part I, paragraph 3 and amended by the Health and Medicines Act 1988 (c. 49), section 13(2) and (3).

(2)

S.I. 1997/818. The relevant amending instrument is S.I. 1997/2488.