18.—(1) A person who wishes to be granted the right to be included in a pharmaceutical list maintained by the Local Health Board on a subsequent application under regulation 15(1)(a) or 15(1)(b)(i) (applications to be included in or make amendment to a pharmaceutical list) may submit an application to a Local Health Board for preliminary consent under this regulation.
(2) An application made under this regulation must be made in writing and must provide the information and undertakings set out in—
(a)Part 1 of Schedule 2, and
(b)subject to regulation 60 (home Local Health Board), Part 2 of Schedule 2.
(3) A Local Health Board must determine an application for preliminary consent as if it were an application made pursuant to regulation 15(1)(a) or 15(1)(b)(i).
(4) A preliminary consent will be valid for a period of 6 months from the date on which it is granted, which is the later of either—
(a)30 days after notice of the Local Health Board’s decision on the application was sent by the Local Health Board in accordance with paragraph 14 of Schedule 3, or
(b)where an appeal is made against the decision of the Local Health Board, the date on which the Welsh Ministers give notice of their decision on the appeal under paragraph 8 of Schedule 4.
(5) A Local Health Board must grant a subsequent application made under regulation 15(1)(a) or 15(1)(b)(i) by a person who has been granted preliminary consent if—
(a)the date on which the application was received by the Local Health Board is within the period specified in paragraph (4),
(b)the pharmaceutical services specified in the application are the same as those that were specified in the application for preliminary consent, and
(c)the premises specified in the application are in the same location as the premises or a location that is relevant to a need identified in the pharmaceutical needs assessment of the Local Health Board.
(6) Where sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) in respect of paragraph (5) are satisfied but the premises specified in the application have a different location from that in respect of which preliminary consent was granted, the Local Health Board must treat the application as though it were an application made pursuant to regulation 15(1)(b)(ii).
(7) The grant of an application under paragraph (5) must be subject to any conditions that were imposed by the Local Health Board, or the Welsh Ministers on appeal, in relation to the final grant of the corresponding preliminary consent.
(8) In determining an application under this regulation from a person who is not already included in the Local Health Board’s pharmaceutical list (apart from an application from a person who has a valid preliminary consent in accordance with paragraph (4)), a Local Health Board may—
(a)defer consideration of the application on fitness grounds under regulation 36 (deferral of application on fitness grounds),
(b)refuse the application on fitness grounds under regulation 37 (refusal of applications on fitness grounds), or
(c)impose conditions on the grant of the application under regulation 38 (conditional inclusion on fitness grounds).