The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2016

Made: 3 March 2016

Laid before the National Assembly for Wales: 7 March 2016

Coming into force: 1 April 2016

The Welsh Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 128, 129, 130 and 203(9) and (10) of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006[^f00001].

Title, commencement, application and interpretation

1

• (1) The title of these Regulations is the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2016 which come into force on 1 April 2016.

• (2) These Regulations apply in relation to Wales.

• (3) In these Regulations—

• “the Optical Regulations” (“y Rheoliadau Optegol”) means the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations 1997[^f00002].

Amendments to the Schedules to the Optical Regulations

2

• (1) Schedules 1 to 3 to the Optical Regulations are amended in accordance with the following provisions of this regulation.

• (2) In Schedule 1 (voucher letter codes and face values – supply and replacement) in column (3) of the table (face value of voucher) for each amount specified in column (1) of table 1 below substitute the amount specified in relation to it in column (2) of the table below:

• (3) In Schedule 2 (prisms, tints, photochromic lenses, small and special glasses and complex appliances)—

• (a) in paragraph 1(1)(a), for “£12.50” substitute “£12.60”;

• (b) in paragraph 1(1)(b), for “£15.20” substitute “£15.40”;

• (c) in paragraph 1(1)(c), for “£4.30” substitute “£4.40”;

• (d) in paragraph 1(1)(d), for “£4.80” substitute “£4.90”;

• (e) in paragraph 1(1)(e), for “£63.60”, “£56.40”, and “£30.50” substitute “£64.20”, “£57.00” and “£30.80” respectively;

• (f) in paragraph 1(1)(g), for “£63.60” substitute “£64.20”;

• (g) in paragraph 2(a), for “£14.50” substitute “£14.60”; and

• (h) in paragraph 2(b), for “£37.00” substitute “£37.40”.

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

Transitional provision

3

The amounts substituted by regulation 2 apply only in relation to a voucher accepted or used pursuant to regulation 12 or regulation 17 of the Optical Regulations on or after 1 April 2016.

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

Signed

Mark Drakeford — Minister for Health and Social Services, one of the Welsh Ministers — 3 March 2016

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations amend the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations 1997 (“the Optical 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 sight tests and the supply, replacement and repair of optical appliances.

Regulation 2 and the Schedule amend Schedules 1, 2 and 3 to the Optical Regulations to increase the value of vouchers issued towards the cost of the supply and replacement of glasses and contact lenses, to increase the additional values for vouchers for prisms, tints, photochromic lenses and special categories of appliances and to increase the value of vouchers issued towards the cost of the repair and replacement of optical appliances.

Regulation 3 makes transitional provision in relation to vouchers accepted or used before 31 March 2016.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, it was not considered necessary to carry out a regulatory impact assessment as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2006 c. 42.

[^f00002]: S.I. 1997/818 as amended.