National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006

Charging for dental services E+W

125 Dental charging E+W

(1) Regulations may provide for the making and recovery, in such manner as may be prescribed, of charges for relevant dental services.

(2) Regulations under subsection (1) may in particular include provision—

(a) specifying the amount, or maximum amount, of any charge (or aggregate charge in respect of the provision for two or more relevant dental services),

(b) for calculating the amount of any charge,

(c) for the variation of the amount, or maximum amount, of any charge in cases of a prescribed description,

(d) for any charge not to be payable in cases of a prescribed description,

(e) for power to direct that a charge is not payable in any particular case,

(f) for the repayment of any charge (including provision as to the persons by whom, and manner in which, repayments must be made).

(3) Regulations under subsection (1) may provide for sums which would otherwise be payable by a Local Health Board or Special Health Authority to persons providing relevant dental services to be reduced by the amount of the charges authorised by the regulations.

(4) In this section and section 126 “relevant dental services” means—

(a) dental treatment provided—

(i) under section 56(2),

(ii) under a general dental services contract, or

(iii) in accordance with section 64 arrangements, and

(b) the supply of dentures and other dental appliances under this Act.

(5) Any reference in this section or 126 to the supply of an appliance includes a reference to its repair, adjustment, refitting or replacement and, in the case of dentures, to their being relined or having additions made to them.

126 Exemptions from dental charging E+W

(1) No charge may be made under regulations under section 125(1) in respect of a relevant dental service provided for any person who at the prescribed time—

(a) was under 18,

(b) was under 19 and receiving qualifying full-time education,

(c) was pregnant, or

(d) had given birth to a child within the previous 12 months.

(2) No charge may be made under regulations under section 125(1) in respect of—

(a) the repair or replacement of any appliance,

(b) any appliance supplied to a patient who is resident in a hospital,

(c) the arrest of bleeding.

(3) Subsections (1) and (2)(a) do not apply in relation to—

(a) the repair or replacement of any appliance of a prescribed description,

(b) the repair or replacement of any appliance where it is determined in the prescribed manner—

(i) in any case, that the repair or replacement was necessitated by an act or omission of the person supplied, or

(ii) in a case where the person supplied was under the age of 16, that the repair or replacement was necessitated by an act or omission, occurring while that person was under that age, of a person having charge of him.

(4) Subsection (2)(b) does not apply where an appliance is supplied—

(a) under section 56(2),

(b) under a general dental services contract, or

(c) in accordance with section 64 arrangements.

(5) Regulations may provide, with respect to any exemption under this section, that it must be a condition of the exemption that—

(a) a declaration of the prescribed kind is made in the prescribed form and manner,

(b) a certificate or other evidence of the prescribed kind is supplied in the prescribed form and manner.

(6) In subsection (1)(b) “qualifying full-time education” means full-time instruction at a recognised educational establishment or by other means accepted as comparable by the Welsh Ministers.

(7) For the purposes of subsection (6)—

(a) “recognised educational establishment” means an establishment recognised by the Welsh Ministers as being, or as comparable to, a school, college or university, and

(b) regulations may prescribe the circumstances in which a person must, or must not, be treated as receiving full-time instruction.

(8) In subsection (1)(d), “child” includes a still-born child (within the meaning of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 1953 (c. 20).