{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/general-dental-services-regulations-northern-ireland-1993/regulation-21",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/general-dental-services-regulations-northern-ireland-1993/regulation-21.json",
  "legislation": "nisr/1993/326",
  "legislation_title": "General Dental Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/general-dental-services-regulations-northern-ireland-1993",
  "path": "regulation/21",
  "kind": "regulation",
  "number": "21",
  "heading": "Appeals against decisions of the Agency",
  "text": "(1) Where any dentist is aggrieved by a decision of the Agency concerning fees payable to him in respect of his provision of general dental services, that dentist may, in accordance with paragraph (2), appeal against the Agency's decision to the Department.\n(2) An appeal under paragraph (1) shall be brought by giving notice of appeal in writing to the Department within 30 days of the date on which the dentist was informed of the decision of the Agency, or within such longer period as the Department may, for reasonable cause, allow.\n(3) A notice of appeal under paragraph (2) shall contain a concise statement of the facts and contentions upon which the appellant intends to rely.\n(4) The Department shall, within 30 days of receiving a notice of appeal, request from the Agency a written statement of the reasons for its decision, and the Agency shall within 30 days of receiving the request send such a statement to the Department.\n(5) The Department shall consider the notice of appeal and the Agency's statement and—\n(a) where the Department is of the opinion that the notice discloses no reasonable grounds of appeal, or that the appeal is otherwise vexatious or frivolous, it may dismiss it forthwith;\n(b) where the appeal is against a refusal of the Agency to approve a claim for remuneration on grounds that the services to which the claim relates cannot be provided as part of general dental services, the Department shall determine it in such manner as it thinks fit and shall give notice of its decision and of the reason for it to the appellant and the Agency;\n(c) where—\n(i) the appeal is brought under paragraph (1) against a decision of the Agency concerning a dentist's fees, and\n(ii) the Agency has certified in its statement under paragraph (4) that it has authorised those fees and that they were the fees or maximum fees prescribed by Determination I of the Statement of Dental Remuneration for the services provided or to be provided,\nthe Department shall dismiss the appeal forthwith unless it is of the opinion that it involves a dispute as to the item or sub-item of treatment in that Determination applicable to the services provided or intended to be provided;\n(d) except where an appeal is dismissed in accordance with the preceding provisions of this paragraph, the Department shall, within 30 days of receiving the Agency's statement under paragraph (4), appoint 2 dentists, who are or have been engaged in the provision of general dental services, as referees to hear the representations of the appellant and the Agency and determine the appeal. One such dentist shall be appointed after consultation with such organisation as represents the dental profession;\n(e) for the purposes of any appeal, the dentists so appointed may, if satisfied that the appeal can properly be determined without an oral hearing and with the agreement of the appellant and the Agency, dispense with an oral hearing in which case the appellant and the Agency shall be given an opportunity to amplify their statements.\n(6) Where the Department dismisses an appeal under paragraph (5) it shall give notice in writing to the person who brought the appeal and to the Agency that the appeal has been dismissed, and, where the appeal is dismissed under sub-paragraph (c) of that paragraph, they shall include with the notice to the appellant a copy of the Agency's statement under paragraph (4) and a statement of its reasons for dismissing the appeal.\n(7) A party to an appeal which is to be determined by referees following a hearing shall not be entitled to rely upon any facts or contentions not contained in the notice of appeal or the statement of the Agency unless that party gives notice in writing of those facts or contentions to the referees and to the other party to the appeal at least 7 days before the date of the hearing.\n(8) The referees shall within 7 days after determining an appeal give notice in writing to the Department of their decision and of the reasons for it, and the Department shall within 14 days of receiving the notice send copies of it to the parties.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/1993/326/regulation/21",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T02:50:22.476228+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}