The National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) Regulations 2015

Pre-payment certificates: application and grant E+W

16.—(1) A person applying to the Secretary of State for a pre-payment certificate (referred to in this regulation as “ the applicant”) must—

(a) pay, or undertake to pay by means of a direct debit in ten monthly instalments, to the Secretary of State, the sum payable for the pre-payment certificate as set out in paragraph (3); and

(b) provide the Secretary of State with the information required to determine that application by—

(i) duly completing and submitting an application for the pre-payment certificate on an approved form provided for the purpose, or

(ii) providing the Secretary of State with that information in a manner that is acceptable to the Secretary of State.

(2) A pre-payment certificate is valid for a period of either 3 months or 12 months and an application for such a certificate must indicate the period for which it is required to be valid.

(3) The applicant must pay to the Secretary of State—

(a) in the case of a 3 month pre-payment certificate, [F1 £29.65];

(b) in the case of a 12 month pre-payment certificate payable by means of a single instalment, [F2 £105.90]; or

(c) in the case of a 12 month pre-payment certificate payable by means of a direct debit in ten monthly instalments, instalments amounting to [F3 £10.59],

and the payment amount referred to for each type of pre-payment certificate is referred to in this regulation and regulation 17 as “the issuing amount”.

(4) Subject to paragraph (6), the Secretary of State must grant a pre-payment certificate to the applicant as soon as reasonably practicable after the applicant has fulfilled the requirements set out in paragraph (1).

(5) The Secretary of State may refuse to accept payment for a pre-payment certificate valid for 12 months by means of direct debit in ten monthly instalments, and refuse to grant such a certificate to an applicant, where the applicant has—

(a) previously been granted a pre-payment certificate valid for 12 months payable by direct debit in ten monthly instalments;

(b) failed to pay in full the amount payable for that previously granted prepayment certificate without good reason; and

(c) failed to return without good reason that previously granted pre-payment certificate to the Secretary of State within 28 days of the date on which it was requested to be returned.

(6) A pre-payment certificate is valid—

(a) from a date before the application is made, where that date—

(i) was specified by the applicant when making the application, and

(ii) is no more than one month prior to the date when the application was made under paragraph (1); or

(b) from a date after the application is made, where that date—

(i) was specified by the applicant when making the application, and

(ii) is not more than one month after the date when the application was made under paragraph (1); or

(c) if the applicant does not specify a date in accordance with sub-paragraphs (a)(i) or (b)(i), from the date when the application is received.

(7) Pre-payment certificates granted under this regulation are not valid in respect of the items specified in column (1) of Schedule 1.

Textual Amendments

F1 Sum in reg. 16(3)(a) substituted (1.4.2020) by The National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/201), regs. 1(1), 4(a) (with reg. 6)

F2 Sum in reg. 16(3)(b) substituted (1.4.2020) by The National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/201), regs. 1(1), 4(b) (with reg. 6)

F3 Sum in reg. 16(3)(c) substituted (1.4.2020) by The National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/201), regs. 1(1), 4(c) (with reg. 6)