The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Amendment) (Wales) (No. 2) Regulations 2007

Welsh Statutory Instruments

2007 No. 1048 (W.106)

NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE, WALES

The National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Amendment) (Wales) (No. 2) Regulations 2007

Made

27 March 2007

Coming into force

1 April 2007

The National Assembly for Wales makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 129 and 203(9) and (10) of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006(1).

Title, commencement, interpretation and application

1.—(1) The title of these Regulations is the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) (Amendment) (Wales) (No. 2) Regulations 2007 and they come into force on 1 April 2007.

(2) These Regulations apply in relation to Wales.

(3) In these Regulations “the Optical Regulations” means the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations 1997(2).

Amendment to the Optical Regulations

2.  In regulation 19 (redemption value of voucher for replacement or repair)—

(a) in paragraph (1)(b), for “£49.20” substitute “£50.50”; and

(b) in paragraph (3), for “£12.70” substitute “£13.00”.

Amendments to the Schedules to the Optical Regulations

3.—(1) In Schedule 1 to the Optical Regulations (voucher letter codes and face values-supply and replacement) in column (3) of the table (face value of voucher), for each amount specified in column (1) of the table below substitute the amount specified in relation to it in column (2) of the table below.

(1)	(2)
Old amount	New amount
£33.70	£34.60
£51.20	£52.60
£74.90	£76.90
£169.10	£173.70
£58.20	£59.80
£74.00	£76.00
£95.90	£98.50
£185.90	£190.90
£173.20	£177.90
£49.20	£50.50

(2) In Schedule 2 to the Optical Regulations (prisms, tints, photochromic lenses, small and special glasses and complex appliances)—

(a) in paragraph 1(1)(a), for “£11.00” substitute “£11.30”;

(b) in paragraph (1)(1)(b), for “£13.10” substitute “£13.50”;

(c) in paragraph 1(1)(c), for “£3.70” substitute “£3.80”;

(d) in paragraph 1(1)(d), for “£4.20” substitute “£4.30”;

(e) in paragraph 1(1)(e), for “£55.50”, “£49.20” and “£26.60” substitute “£57.00”, “£50.50” and “£27.30” respectively;

(f) in paragraph 1(1)(g), for “£55.50” substitute “£57.00”;

(g) in paragraph 2(a), for “£12.70” substitute “£13.00”; and

(h) in paragraph 2(b), for “£32.10” substitute “£33.00”.

(3) For Schedule 3 to the Optical Regulations (voucher values-repair), substitute the Schedule 3 set out in the Schedule to these Regulations.

Transitional Provision

4.  The amounts substituted by regulations 2 and 3 will apply only in relation to a voucher accepted or used pursuant to regulation 12 or regulation 17 of the Optical Regulations on or after 1 April 2007.

Signed on behalf of the National Assembly for Wales under section 66(1) of the Government of Wales Act 1998(3)

D. Elis-Thomas

The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly

27 March 2007

Regulation 3(3)

SCHEDULE SCHEDULE 3 TO THE OPTICAL REGULATIONS AS SUBSTITUTED BY THESE REGULATIONS

Regulation 19(2) and (3)

“SCHEDULE 3 VOUCHER VALUES REPAIR

(1)	(2)
Nature of Repair	Letter of Codes — Values
	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Repair or replacement of one lens	10.80	19.80	31.95	80.35	23.40	31.50	42.75	88.95	82.45
Repair or replacement of two lenses	21.60	39.60	63.90	160.70	46.80	63.00	85.50	177.90	164.90
Repair or replacement of:
The front of a frame	11.05	11.05	11.05	11.05	11.05	11.05	11.05	11.05	11.05
A side of a frame	6.55	6.55	6.55	6.55	6.55	6.55	6.55	6.55	6.55
The whole frame	13.00	13.00	13.00	13.00	13.00	13.00	13.00	13.00	13.00.”

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the National Health Service (Optical Charges and Payments) Regulations 1997 (“the Optical Regulations”) which provide for payments to be made by means of a voucher system in respect of costs incurred by certain categories of persons in connection with the supply, replacement and repair of optical appliances.

Regulation 2 amends regulation 19 to increase the redemption value of a voucher issued towards the cost of replacement of a single contact lens and to increase the maximum contribution by way of voucher to the cost of repair of a frame.

Regulation 3 and the Schedule amend the Schedules to the Optical Regulations to increase the value of vouchers issued towards the costs of the supply and replacement of glasses and contact lenses, to increase the additional values for vouchers for prisms, tints, photochromic lenses and special categories of appliances and to increase the value of vouchers issued towards the cost of the repair and replacement of optical appliances. The rate of increase in the value of vouchers in these Regulations is approximately 2.7%.

These Regulations do not impose a cost on business.

(1)

2006 c. 42. References in the Act to “Welsh Ministers” are to have effect until the end of the initial period, within the meaning of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c. 32), as references to the National Assembly for Wales, constituted by the Government of Wales Act 1998 (c. 38), by virtue of section 5 of and paragraph 10 of Schedule 3 to the National Health Service (Consequential Provisions) Act 2006 (c. 43).

(2)

S.I. 1997/818 as amended.

(3)

1998 c. 38.