Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges and Optical Charges and Payments and General Ophthalmic Services (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004

Made2nd April 2004

Coming into operation6th April 2004

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety1 in exercise of the powers conferred on it by Articles 45, 62, 98, 106 and 107(6) of, and Schedule 15 to, the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 19722 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 interpretationI11

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges and Optical Charges and Payments and General Ophthalmic Services (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004 and shall come into operation on 6th April 2004.

2

In these Regulations –

“the Travelling Expenses Regulations” means the Health and Personal Social Services (Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 20043;
“the Optical Regulations” means the Health and Personal Social Services (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 19974;
“the Ophthalmic Regulations” means the Health and Personal Social Services (General Ophthalmic Services) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 19865; and
“the Charges Regulations” means the Health and Personal Social Services (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 19976.

Amendment of regulation 5 of the Travelling Expenses RegulationsI22

In regulation 5(2)(d) of the Travelling Expenses Regulations (entitlement to full remission and payment) for “requirements equal or exceed his income resources” there is substituted “income resources do not exceed his requirements or exceed his requirements by fifty per cent or less of the amount of the charge specified in regulation 3(1)(b) (supply of drugs and appliances by chemists) of the Charges Regulations”.

Amendment of the Optical Regulations and the Ophthalmic RegulationsI33

1

In regulation 8(3)(e) of the Optical Regulations (eligibility – supply of optical appliances) after “requirements as so calculated” there is inserted “or exceed his requirements as so calculated by fifty per cent or less of the amount of the charge specified in regulation 3(1)(b) (supply of drugs and appliances by chemists) of the Charges Regulations”.

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Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety on 2nd April 2004.

Dr. J. F. LivingstoneSenior Officer of theDepartment of Health, Social Services and Public Safety

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Finance and Personnel on 2nd April 2004.

Michael BrennanSenior Officer of theDepartment of Finance and Personnel

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend the Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2004 (“the Travelling Expenses Regulations”), and further amend the Optical Charges and Payments Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1997 (“the Optical Regulations”) and the General Ophthalmic Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1986 (“the Ophthalmic Regulations”).

Regulations 2 and 3 increase the income level at which entitlement arises to repayment of travel expenses and a full remission of HS charges, an HS sight test and a voucher towards the cost of an optical appliance and make transitional provision. The income level at which entitlement arises is increased from that which is equal to (or less than) a person’s requirements to that which exceeds requirements by fifty per cent or less of the HS prescription charge. The prescription charge is currently £6·40.