3.—(1) An application shall be made in writing, and shall be sent to the Health Authority.
(2) The application shall state whether it is an application for recognition as a community fund-holding practice or as a standard fund-holding practice.
(3) The application shall be signed by each member of the practice making it.
(4) Where an application has been made but before it has been determined in accordance with regulation 6, the members of the practice may, by notice to the Health Authority signed by each member of the practice, change their application to an application for recognition as a standard, or as the case may be, a community fund-holding practice; and where the Health Authority receives such a notice after it has forwarded the application to the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph (6), it shall forward the notice to the Secretary of State.
(5) The practice shall provide, in connection with the application, such information and documents as the Secretary of State may reasonably require for the purposes of determining the application.
(6) The Health Authority shall consider the application and forward it to the Secretary of State together with a notice stating whether the practice—
(a)complies with the relevant condition set out in paragraph 1(a) or (b) of Schedule 1 or, in the opinion of the Health Authority, is likely to do so by the date on which any recognition would take effect;
(b)will, in the opinion of the Health Authority, be capable of managing an allotted sum effectively and efficiently; and
(c)complies with the conditions set out in paragraphs 2, 4 and 5 of Schedule 1.
(7) Where the notice mentioned in paragraph (6) states that, in the opinion of the Health Authority, the practice will not be capable of managing an allotted sum effectively and efficiently, the Health Authority shall include with the notice a statement of the reasons for its opinion.
(8) The Health Authority shall send a copy of the notice mentioned in paragraph (6), together with any statement of reasons as mentioned in paragraph (7), to the members of the practice.
(9) Where the notice mentioned in paragraph (6) states either—
(a)that the practice does not comply with the relevant condition specified in paragraph 1(a) or (b) of Schedule 1 and that, in the opinion of the Health Authority, it is not likely to do so by the date on which any recognition would take effect; or
(b)that the practice will not, in the opinion of the Health Authority, be capable of managing an allotted sum effectively and efficiently,
the Secretary of State shall invite the practice to comment upon the Health Authority’s observations before deciding whether or not to grant recognition as a fund-holding practice in accordance with regulation 5.
(10) Where at least one of the members of a practice wishing to make an application is included in the medical list of a Health Board, section 14 of the 1990 Act(1) shall operate subject to the modification that at the end of subsection (1), there shall be added the words “except, if at least one of those practitioners is also providing general medical services in accordance with arrangements under section 19 of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978(2), where more patients on the lists of members of the practice reside in Scotland than in England”.
Section 14 was amended by paragraph 73(a) of Schedule 1 to the Health Authorities Act 1995 (c. 17).