The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations 2013

PART 1GENERAL

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations 2013 and come into force on 1st April 2013 except for regulation 8(3)(j) and (4)(e) which comes into force on 29th April 2013.

(2) In these Regulations—

“the 2006 Act” means the National Health Service Act 2006;

“the 1997 Regulations” means the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations 1997(1);

“the Board” means the National Health Service Commissioning Board(2);

“capital limit” means the amount prescribed for the purpose of section 134(1) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992(3) (exclusions from benefit) as it applies to income support;

“child tax credit” means child tax credit under Part 1 of the Tax Credits Act 2002(4);

“complex appliance” means an optical appliance at least one lens of which––

“disability element” means the disability element of working tax credit as specified in section 11(3) of the Tax Credits Act 2002 (maximum rate);

“eligible person” is to be construed––

“face value” means, in relation to a voucher on which is marked a letter code specified in column 2 of Schedule 1, the amount specified in relation to that letter code in column 3 of that Schedule, plus the amount of any increase provided for by paragraph 1 of Schedule 2;

“an income-based jobseeker’s allowance” has the meaning given by section 1(4) of the Jobseekers Act 1995(5) (the jobseeker’s allowance);

“income-related employment and support allowance” means an employment and support allowance, entitlement to which is based on section 1(2)(b) of the Welfare Reform Act 2007(6) (employment and support allowance);

“income support” means income support under Part VII of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992;

“minimum complex appliance payment” means, in relation to an optical appliance, the amount specified as such for the appliance in paragraph 2 of Schedule 2;

“NHS sight test fee” means the fee for a sight test determined in accordance with directions given by the Secretary of State under section 120 of the 2006 Act (GOS contracts: payments), as those directions have effect at the time of making these Regulations and as amended subsequently(7);

“notice of entitlement” means a notice issued under regulation 8 of the Remission Regulations (notices of entitlement) for the purposes of remission of charges under the 2006 Act;

“ophthalmic list” has the meaning given in section 11(5) of the 2006 Act (arrangements to be treated as NHS contracts);

“ophthalmic performers list” means a list of ophthalmic medical practitioners and optometrists prepared in accordance with regulations made under section 123 of the 2006 Act(8);

“ophthalmic practitioner” means an ophthalmic medical practitioner or optometrist whose name is included in an ophthalmic performers list;

“patient contribution” means a contribution to be paid by a person whose eye sight has been tested, towards the cost of that sight test or towards the cost of the supply, replacement or repair of an optical appliance for which a prescription has been given in consequence of the sight test, and the amount of that contribution is to be calculated as follows––

“pension credit guarantee credit” shall be construed in accordance with sections 1 and 2 of the State Pension Credit Act 2002(9);

“the POS Regulations” means the Primary Ophthalmic Services Regulations 2008(10);

“prisoner” means a person who is detained in a prison, including a young offender institution but not a secure training centre or a naval, military or air force prison, but is, at the time of receiving any primary ophthalmic service, on leave from that prison, and for the purposes of this definition—

“redemption value” is to be construed––

“relevant income” has the same meaning as in section 7(3) of Part 1 of the Tax Credits Act 2002 (income test);

“the Remission Regulations” means the National Health Service (Travel Expenses and Remission of Charges) Regulations 2003(12) and reference to those Regulations is to be construed as a reference to them as they have effect on the making of these Regulations and as amended subsequently;

“replacement” does not include the replacement of an optical appliance rendered unserviceable by fair wear and tear;

“severe disability element” means the severe disability element of working tax credit specified in section 11(6)(d) of the Tax Credits Act 2002 (maximum rate);

“small glasses” means glasses––

“supplier” includes a person replacing or repairing an optical appliance;

“supply” includes the replacement of an optical appliance rendered unserviceable by fair wear and tear;

“voucher” for the purposes of enabling a payment to be made under these Regulations means–

“working tax credit” means working tax credit under Part 1 of the Tax Credits Act 2002.