Optical Charges and Payments and General Ophthalmic Services (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002

Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

2002 No. 85

HEALTH AND PERSONAL SOCIAL SERVICES

Optical Charges and Payments and General Ophthalmic Services (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002

Made

7th March 2002

Coming into operation—

except for regulations 3 and 6

1st April 2002

Regulations 3 and 6

9th April 2002

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety(1), in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Articles 62, 98, 106 and 107(6) of, and Schedule 15 to, the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972(2) 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:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Optical Charges and Payments and General Ophthalmic Services (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2002 and shall come into operation—

(a) except for regulations 3 and 6, on 1st April 2002; and

(b) regulations 3 and 6 on 9th April 2002.

(2) In these Regulations—

(a) “the 1997 Regulations” means the Health and Personal Social Services (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997(3).

(b) “the 1986 Regulations” means the General Ophthalmic Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1986(4).

Amendment of the 1997 Regulations

2.  In regulation 2 of the 1997 Regulations (charges for optical appliances supplied by an HSS trust)—

(a) in paragraph (3) for “£43·90” there shall be substituted “£44·60”; and

(b) in paragraph (5)(b) for “£53·80” and “£87·50” in both places where they occur there shall be substituted “£54·70” and “£89·00” respectively.

3.  In regulation 8(3)(c) and (g)(5) of the 1997 Regulations (eligibility — supply of optical appliances) for “£71·00” on each occasion it appears there shall be substituted “£72·20”.

4.  In regulation 19 of the 1997 Regulations (redemption value of voucher for replacement or repair)—

(a) in paragraph (1)(b) for “£43·90” there shall be substituted “£44·60”; and

(b) in paragraph (3) for “£11·30” there shall be substituted “£11·50”.

5.—(1) In Schedule 1 to the 1997 Regulations (voucher letter codes and face values — supply and replacement)(6) 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
£ 30·00	£30·50
£ 45·60	£46·40
£ 62·10	£63·20
£140·30	£142·70
£ 51·80	£52·70
£ 65·90	£67·00
£ 79·60	£81·00
£154·30 (in both places where it appears)	£157·00
£ 43·90	£44·60

(2) In Schedule 2 to the 1997 Regulations (prisms, tints, photochromic lenses, small and special glasses and complex appliances)—

(a) in paragraph 1(1)(a) (prism — single vision lens) for “£6·30” there shall be substituted “£9·90”;

(b) in paragraph 1(1)(b) (prism — other lens) for “£7·20” there shall be substituted “£11·90”;

(c) in paragraph 1(1)(c) (single vision tinted lens) for “£3·20” there shall be substituted “£3·30”;

(d) in paragraph 1(1)(d) (other tinted lens) for “£3·70” there shall be substituted “£3·80”;

(e) in paragraph 1(1)(e) (small glasses)—

(i) in sub-head (i) for “£49·40” there shall be substituted “£50·20”;

(ii) in sub-head (ii) for “£43·90” there shall be substituted “£44·60”; and

(iii) in sub-head (iii) for “£23·80” there shall be substituted “£24·20”;

(f) in paragraph 1(1)(g) (specially manufactured frames) for “£49·40” there shall be substituted “£50·20”;

(g) in paragraph 2(a) (minimum complex appliance payment — single vision lenses) for “£10·50” there shall be substituted “£10·70”; and

(h) in paragraph 2(b) (minimum complex appliance payment — other cases) for “£26·50” there shall be substituted “£27·00”.

(3) For Schedule 3 to the 1997 Regulations (voucher values— repair)(7) there shall be substituted the Schedule 3 set out in the Schedule.

Amendment of the 1986 Regulations

6.  In regulation 15(2)(c) and (g) of the 1986 Regulations (sight tests — eligibility) for “£71·00” on each occasion it appears there shall be substitutted “£72·20”.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on 7th March 2002.

L.S.

D. J. Thompson

A Senior Officer of the

Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety

The Department of Finance and Personal hereby approves the foregoing Regulations.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on 7th March 2002.

L.S.

R. Scott

A Senior Officer of the

Department of Finance and Personnel

Regulation 5(3)

SCHEDULE SCHEDULE 3 TO THE 1997 REGULATIONS AS SUBSTITUTED BY THESE REGULATIONS

Regulation 19(2) and (3)

SCHEDULE 3 Voucher Value — Repair

Letter Codes—Values
Nature of repair to appliance	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H & I
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Repair or replacement of one lens	9·50	17·45	25·85	65·60	20·60	27·75	34·75	72·75
Repair or replacement of 2 lenses	19·00	34·90	51·70	131·20	41·20	55·50	69·50	145·50
Repair or replacement of:
the front of a frame	9·75	9·75	9·75	9·75	9·75	9·75	9·75	9·75
a side of a frame	5·80	5·80	5·80	5·80	5·80	5·80	5·80	5·80
the whole frame	11·50	11·50	11·50	11·50	11·50	11·50	11·50	11·50

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations further amend the Optical Charges and Payments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 (“the 1997 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. The Regulations also amend the General Ophtalmic Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1986 (“the 1986 Regulations”) which provide for the arrangemments under which ophthalmic medical practitioners and ophthalmic opticians provide General Ophthalmic Services.

Regulation 2 amends regulation 2 of the 1997 Regulations to provide for an increase in the charges for glasses and contact lenses supplied by an HSS trust.

Regulation 3 amends regulation 8 of the 1997 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 1997 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 1997 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 1997 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 1997 Regulations to increase the value of vouchers issued towards the cost of repair and replacement of optical appliances.

Regulation 6 amends regulation 15 of the 1986 Regulations to increase the income level used in determining eligibility to free health service sight tests for recipients of tax credits.

The rate of increase is, on average, approximately 1·95%.

(1)

See S.I. 1999/283 (N.I. 1) Article 3(6)

(2)

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

(3)

S.R 1997 No. 191; relevant amending Regulations are S.R. 1999 Nos. 111 and 394; S.R. 2000 No. 51; and S.R. 2001 No. 133

(4)

S.R. 1986 No. 163; regulation 15 was substituted by S.R. 1989 No. 113, sub-paragraph 2(g) was added by S.R. 1995 No. 115, and sub-paragraphs 2(c) and (g) were substituted by S.R. 1999 No. 394

(5)

Regulation 8(3)(c) and (g) is amended by S.R. 1999 No. 394

(6)

Schedule 1 is substituted by the Schedule to S.R. 1999 No. 111 and amended by S.R. 2000 No. 51 and S.R. 2001 No. 133

(7)

Schedule 3 is substituted by the Schedule to S.R. 2001 No. 133