Optical Charges and Payments (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001

Made: 27th March 2001

Coming into operation—

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety[^f00001], in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Articles 62, 98 and 106 of, and Schedule 15 to, the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972[^f00002] and of all other powers enabling it in that behalf, with the approval of the Department of Finance and Personnel, and after consultation with such organisations as appeared to the Department to be representative of medical practitioners practising as ophthalmic medical practitioners, and ophthalmic opticians, as required by Article 62(3) of the said Order, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Optical Charges and Payments (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 and shall come into operation—

• (a) except for regulation 2, on 1st April 2001; and

• (b) regulation 2 on 10th April 2001.

• (2) In these Regulations—

• “the principal Regulations” means the Health and Personal Social Services (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997[^f00003].

Amendment of regulation 2 of the principal Regulations

2

In regulation 2 of the principal Regulations (charges for optical appliances supplied by an HSS trust)—

• (a) in paragraph (3) for “£42·80” there shall be substituted “£43·90”; and

• (b) in paragraph (5)(b) for “£52·50” and “£85·40” in both places where they occur there shall be substituted “£53·80” and “£87·50” respectively.

Amendment of regulation 8 of the principal Regulations

3

In regulation 8(3)(c) and (g) of the principal Regulations (eligibility — supply of optical appliances) for “£70·00” on each occasion it appears there shall be substituted “£71·00”.

Amendment of regulation 19 of the principal Regulations

4

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

• (a) in paragraph (1)(b) for “£42·80” there shall be substituted “£43·90”; and

• (b) in paragraph (3) for “£11·00” there shall be substituted “£11·30”.

Amendment of Schedules to the principal Regulations

5

• (1) In Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations (voucher letter codes and face values — supply and replacement)[^f00004] in column 3 (face value of voucher) for each amount specified in column 1 of the Table below (old amount) there shall be substituted the amount specified in relation to it in column 2 of that Table (new amount).

• (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 “£6·10” there shall be substituted “£6·30”;

• (b) in paragraph 1(1)(b) (prism — other lens) for “£7·00” there shall be substituted “£7·20”;

• (c) in paragraph 1(1)(c) (single vision tinted lens) for “£3·10” there shall be substituted “£3·20”;

• (d) in paragraph 1(1)(d) (other tinted lens) for “£3·60” there shall be substituted “£3·70”;

• (e) in paragraph 1(1)(e) (small glasses)—

• (i) in sub-head (i) for “£48·20” there shall be substituted “£49·40”,

• (ii) in sub-head (ii) for “£42·80” there shall be substituted “£43·90”, and

• (iii) in sub-head (iii) for “£23·20” there shall be substituted “£23·80”;

• (f) in paragraph 1(1)(g) (specially manufactured frames) for “£48·20” there shall be substituted “£49·40”;

• (g) in paragraph 2(a) (minimum complex appliance payment — single vision lenses) for “£10·20” there shall be substituted “£10·50”; and

• (h) in paragraph 2(b) (minimum complex appliance payment – other cases) for “£25·90” there shall be substituted “£26·50”.

• (3) For Schedule 3 to the principal Regulations (voucher values — repair)[^f00005] there shall be substituted the Schedule 3 set out in the Schedule.

SCHEDULE — Schedule 3 to the principal Regulations as substituted by these Regulations

Signed

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on 27th March 2001.

D. A. Baker — A Senior Officer of the — Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety

The Department of Finance and Personnel hereby approves the foregoing Regulations.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on 27th March 2001.

D. Sterling — A Senior Officer of the — Department of Finance and Personnel

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations further amend the Optical Charges and Payments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 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 provides for an increase in the charges for glasses and contact lenses supplied by an HSS trust.

Regulation 3 amends regulation 8 of the principal Regulations to increase the income level at which recipients of tax credit are entitled to health service optical vouchers.

Regulation 4 amends regulation 19 of the principal Regulations (redemption value of voucher for replacement or repair) to increase the redemption value of two categories of vouchers, namely, vouchers for replacement and vouchers for repair.

Regulation 5(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 5(2) amends Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations by increasing the additional values for vouchers in respect of prisms, tints, and special categories of appliances.

Regulations 5(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 2·5%.

Footnotes

[^f00002]: S.I. 1972/1265 (N.I. 14) as amended by Article 3(2) of, and paragraph 3 of Schedule 1 to, the Health and Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1984 (S.I. 1984/1158 (N.I. 8)); paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 8 of the Health and Medicines (Northern Ireland) Order 1988 (S.I. 1988/2249 (N.I. 24)); Article 34 of, and Part II of Schedule 5 to, the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 (S.I. 1991/194 (N.I. 1)); there are other amendments which are not relevant

[^f00003]: S.R. 1997 No. 191; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1999 Nos. 111 and 394 and S.R. 2000 No. 51

[^f00004]: Schedule 1 is substituted by the Schedule to S.R. 1999 No. 111 and amended by S.R. 2000 No. 51

[^f00005]: Schedule 3 is substituted by the Schedule to S.R. 2000 No. 51