PART IVPAYMENTS FOR COST OF SUPPLY OF OPTICAL APPLIANCES
Eligibility – supply of optical appliances8.
(1)
A payment shall be made as provided for by this Part of these Regulations to meet, or to contribute towards, the cost incurred (whether by way of charge under the Act or otherwise) for the supply of an optical appliance for which a prescription has been given in consequence of a testing of sight of an eligible person–
(a)
which took place under the Act; or
(b)
which took place otherwise than under the Act F1....
(2)
An eligible person is a person who at the time of F2the payment for the supply of the optical appliance is any of the following:–
(a)
a child;
(b)
(c)
a person whose resources are treated, in accordance with paragraph (3), as being less than his requirements;
(d)
a person whose income resources, as calculated in accordance with regulation F38 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Remission Regulations for the purposes of remission of charges under the Act, are equal to or exceed his requirements as so calculated but whose patient’s contribution is nil or is less than the face value of a voucher issued to him under this Part of these Regulations and whose capital resources do not exceed the capital limit;
(e)
a person to whom a prescription is issued for a complex appliance.
(3)
A person’s resources shall be treated as being less than his requirements if–
(a)
he is in receipt of income support;
(b)
he is a member of the same family as a person who is in receipt of income support;
F4(c)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F5(d)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(e)
his income resources as calculated in accordance with regulation F68 of, and Schedule 1 to, the Remission Regulations for the purposes of remission of charges under the Act, are less than his requirements as so calculated F7 or exceeds his requirements as so calculated by fifty per cent or less of the amount of the charge F8referred to in regulation 3(1)(b)(ii) (supply of drugs and appliances by chemists) of the National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Scotland) Regulations F92008 and his capital resources as so calculated do not exceed the capital limit;
(f)
he is a member of the same family as a person described in paragraph (e) of this paragraph;
F10(g)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
F11(h)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(i)
he is in receipt of an income-based jobseeker’s allowance; or
(j)
he is a member of the same family as a person described in sub-paragraph (i) of this paragraph.
F12(k)
he is a member of a family–
(i)
one member of which is receiving–
(aa)
working tax credit and child tax credit; or
(bb)
working tax credit which includes a disability element F13or severe disability element; or
(cc)
child tax credit, but is not eligible for working tax credit;”;
and
(ii)
where the relevant income of the person or persons to whom an award of a tax credit is made under section 14 of the Tax Credits Act 2002 is determined at the time of the award not to exceed F14£15,050; or
(l)
he is a member of a family in respect of whom there is a current notice of entitlement under regulation 12A.
F15(m)
he is in receipt of pension credit guarantee credit; or
(n)
he is a member of the same family as a person described in sub-paragraph (m) of this paragraph.
F16(o)
he is in receipt of income-related employment and support allowance; or
(p)
he is a member of the same family as a person described in sub-paragraph (o) of this paragraph.
F17(4)
In paragraph (3)–
F18(a)
in sub-paragraphs (b), (f) and (n), “family” has the meaning given to it by section 137(1) of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, as it applies to income support;
(b)
in sub paragraph (j), “family” has the meaning given to it by section 35 of the Jobseekers Act 1995; and
(c)
in sub paragraphs (k) and (l), “family” has the meaning given to it by regulation 2(2) of the Tax Credits (Definition and Calculation of Income) Regulations 2002.
F19(d)
in sub-paragraph (p), “family” has the meaning given to it by regulation 2 of the Employment and Support Allowance Regulations 2008.
(5)
For the purposes of regulation 10 and other provisions of this Part as they apply to payments where the testing of sight was by or on behalf of F20a Health Board, a person is also an eligible person if, because of the frequency with which the condition of his eyes changes, he is considered by the F21... F22Health Board to be non-tolerant of his existing optical appliance.