Regulation 10 Amendment of regulation 20 of the principal Regulations

Regulation 20 of the principal Regulations (savings from the allotted sum) shall be amended as follows.

For paragraph (2)(b) there shall be substituted—

“(b)

in relation to any premises from which the members of the practice carry on their practice—

(i)

improvements to the premises, including alterations to or decoration of the premises and the purchase of furniture and furnishings; and

(ii)

building an extension provided that no acquisition of land is involved.”;

After paragraph (3) there shall be inserted the following new paragraphs:—

“(4)

Where the Health Board refuses its consent under paragraph (3), it shall send to the members of the fund-holding practice a notice stating the reasons for its refusal and informing them of their right to appeal to the Secretary of State under paragraph (5).

(5)

The members of the fund-holding practice may, within 28 days beginning with the day on which the notice referred to in paragraph (4) was sent, appeal to the Secretary of State against the Health Board’s refusal of consent under paragraph (3).

(6)

An appeal to the Secretary of State shall be made in writing and shall include a statement of the grounds of appeal.

(7)

On any appeal under paragraph (5), the Secretary of State—

(a)

may, if he thinks fit, hold an oral hearing of the appeal and in such a case shall—

(i)

appoint one or more persons to hear the appeal and to report to him on it; and

(ii)

not less than 14 days before the date fixed for the hearing, give notice in writing to the members of the fund-holding practice and to the Health Board; and

(b)

in determining the appeal, shall either confirm or reverse the decision of the Health Board and shall communicate his decision, together with the reasons for it, to the members of the fund-holding practice and to the Health Board.”.