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

Late payment notices

56.—(1) The contractor may give notice in writing (a “late payment notice”) to the Board if the Board has failed to make any payments due to the contractor in accordance with a term of the agreement regarding prompt payments which has the effect specified in regulation 16(1), and the contractor must specify in the late payment notice the payments that the Board has failed to make in accordance with that term.

(2) Subject to sub-paragraph (4), the contractor may, at least 28 days after the date on which a late payment notice under sub-paragraph (1) was given, terminate the agreement by giving a further written notice to the Board in the event of the Board’s continuing failure to make the payments that are due to the contractor as specified in the late payment notice.

(3) Sub-paragraph (4) applies if, following receipt of a late payment notice, the Board—

(a) refers the matter to the NHS dispute resolution procedure before the end of a period of 28 days beginning with the date on which the Board received the late payment notice; and

(b) gives notice in writing to the contractor that it has done so before the end of that period.

(4) Where this sub-paragraph applies, the contractor may not terminate the agreement in accordance with sub-paragraph (2) until—

(a) there has been a final determination of the dispute under the NHS dispute resolution procedure and that determination permits the contractor to terminate the agreement; or

(b) the Board ceases to pursue the NHS dispute resolution procedure,

whichever is the earlier.

(5) This paragraph does not affect any other rights to terminate the agreement that the contractor may have.