Optical Charges and Payments (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001
S.R. 2001/133 · Made 27 March 2001
HEALTH AND PERSONAL SOCIAL SERVICES
Made 27th March 2001
Coming into operation—
except for Regulation 2 1st April 2001
Regulation 2 10th April 2001
The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safetyf1, 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 1972f2 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:
Annotations to the whole text
Footnotes
- f1
-
Department’s (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/283 (N.I. 1)) — See Article 3(6)
- f2
-
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
Contents
- 1Citation, commencement and interpretation
- 2Amendment of regulation 2 of the principal Regulations
- 3Amendment of regulation 8 of the principal Regulations
- 4Amendment of regulation 19 of the principal Regulations
- 5Amendment of Schedules to the principal Regulations
- Signature
- Schedule Schedule 3 to the principal Regulations as substituted by these Regulations
- Explanatory note
1Citation, commencement and interpretation
These Regulations may be cited as the Optical Charges and Payments (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2001 and shall come into operation—
except for regulation 2, on 1st April 2001; and
regulation 2 on 10th April 2001.
In these Regulations—
-
“the principal Regulations” means the Health and Personal Social Services (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997f1.
2Amendment of regulation 2 of the principal Regulations
In regulation 2 of the principal Regulations (charges for optical appliances supplied by an HSS trust)—
in paragraph (3) for “£42·80” there shall be substituted “£43·90”; and
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.
3Amendment of regulation 8 of the principal Regulations
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”.
4Amendment of regulation 19 of the principal Regulations
In regulation 19 of the principal Regulations (redemption value of voucher for replacement or repair)—
in paragraph (1)(b) for “£42·80” there shall be substituted “£43·90”; and
in paragraph (3) for “£11·00” there shall be substituted “£11·30”.
5Amendment of Schedules to the principal Regulations
In Schedule 1 to the principal Regulations (voucher letter codes and face values — supply and replacement)f1 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).
TABLE
| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
| Old amount | New amount |
| £ 29·30 | £ 30·00 |
| £ 44·50 | £ 45·60 |
| £ 60·60 | £ 62·10 |
| £136·90 | £140·30 |
| £ 50·50 | £ 51·80 |
| £ 64·30 | £ 65·90 |
| £ 77·30 | £ 79·60 |
| £150·50 (in both places where it appears) | £154·30 |
| £ 42·80 | £ 43·90 |
In Schedule 2 to the principal Regulations (prisms, tints, photochromic lenses, small and special glasses and complex appliances)—
in paragraph 1(1)(a) (prism — single vision lens) for “£6·10” there shall be substituted “£6·30”;
in paragraph 1(1)(b) (prism — other lens) for “£7·00” there shall be substituted “£7·20”;
in paragraph 1(1)(c) (single vision tinted lens) for “£3·10” there shall be substituted “£3·20”;
in paragraph 1(1)(d) (other tinted lens) for “£3·60” there shall be substituted “£3·70”;
in paragraph 1(1)(e) (small glasses)—
in sub-head (i) for “£48·20” there shall be substituted “£49·40”,
in sub-head (ii) for “£42·80” there shall be substituted “£43·90”, and
in sub-head (iii) for “£23·20” there shall be substituted “£23·80”;
in paragraph 1(1)(g) (specially manufactured frames) for “£48·20” there shall be substituted “£49·40”;
in paragraph 2(a) (minimum complex appliance payment — single vision lenses) for “£10·20” there shall be substituted “£10·50”; and
in paragraph 2(b) (minimum complex appliance payment – other cases) for “£25·90” there shall be substituted “£26·50”.
For Schedule 3 to the principal Regulations (voucher values — repair)f2 there shall be substituted the Schedule 3 set out in the Schedule.
Signature
Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on 27th March 2001.
L.S.
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.
L.S.
D. Sterling
A Senior Officer of the
Department of Finance and Personnel
Schedule 3 to the principal Regulations as substituted by these Regulations
SCHEDULE 3
Voucher Value — Repair
Regulation 19(2) and (3)
Letter Codes — Values Nature of repair to appliance A B C D E F G H & I £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ Repair or replacement of one lens 9·35 17·15 25·40 64·50 20·25 27·30 34·15 71·50 Repair or replacement of 2 lenses 18·70 34·30 50·80 129·00 40·50 54·60 68·30 143·00 Repair or replacement of: the front of a frame 9·60 9·60 9·60 9·60 9·60 9·60 9·60 9·60 a side of a frame 5·70 5·70 5·70 5·70 5·70 5·70 5·70 5·70 the whole frame 11·30 11·30 11·30 11·30 11·30 11·30 11·30 11·30
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%.