The National Health Service (General Dental Services Contracts) Regulations 2005

Action [F1 NHS England] can take following a mid-year review E+W

59.—(1) Where, following the mid-year review and the sending of the final record of that review to the contractor, [F1 NHS England], having taken account of any evidence or reasons put forward by the contractor at that review, nevertheless has serious concerns that the contractor is unlikely to provide the number of—

(a) units of dental activity; or

(b) units of orthodontic activity,

that it is required to provide by the end of the financial year, [F1 NHS England] shall be entitled to take either or both of the steps specified in sub-paragraph (2).

(2) [F1 NHS England] may—

(a) require the contractor to comply with a written plan drawn up by [F1 NHS England] to ensure that the level of activity during the remainder of the financial year is such that the contractor will provide the number of units of dental activity or units of orthodontic activity it is required to provide; or

(b) withhold monies payable under the contract.

(3) The maximum amount that may be withheld pursuant to sub-paragraph (2)(b) is—

(a) the amount that is payable under the contract in respect of the number of units of dental activity or units of orthodontic activity required to be provided in a financial year, less

(b) the amount that would be payable under the contract as a relevant proportion of that amount if the contractor provided in the whole of the financial year only twice the number of units of dental activity or orthodontic activity that he provided between 1st April and 30th September.

(4) Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent [F1 NHS England] and the contractor agreeing to vary the contract in accordance with paragraph 61 to adjust—

(a) the level of activity to be provided under the contract; or

(b) the monies to be paid by [F1 NHS England] to the contractor under the contract.

(5) Where [F1 NHS England] withholds monies under to paragraph (2), it shall ensure that it pays the withheld monies to the contractor as soon as possible following the end of the financial year where the contractor has—

(a) provided the number of units of dental activity or units of orthodontic activity required to be provided; or

(b) failed to provide that number of units of dental activity or units of orthodontic activity, but that failure amounts to 4 per cent or less of the total number of units of dental activity or units of orthodontic activity that ought to have been provided during that financial year (and therefore regulation 19 applies).

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in Regulations substituted (6.11.2023) by The Health and Care Act 2022 (Further Consequential Amendments) (No. 2) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1071), reg. 1(1), Sch. para. 1