Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to extend the deadline of 31 January for the submission of evidence to the Department of Health's formal review of the National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Amendment) Regulations 2017, having released a list of review questions on 22 December 2017, immediately before an extended holiday period and thus effectively reducing an already short consultation period.

The review of ‘The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Amendment) Regulations 2017’ is not a consultation.

However, the Department recognises the need to ensure that sufficient time is provided for both evidence collection and analysis. The end of January deadline was chosen so that the Department could seek to identify the main impacts on vulnerable groups of the amendment regulations as early in the review process as possible. This will allow more time to further explore these impacts with stakeholders, within the timeframe of the review that has been set out.

The Department has responded to questions from stakeholders about the deadline by saying ‘we recognise that the end of January deadline may not be possible for all organisations due to the issues you have raised. As we previously stated, we are therefore willing to be flexible on this deadline, so while we would appreciate organisations submitting their responses as soon as possible, we will of course still consider the information in responses that are submitted after that.’ The Department has made it clear that evidence submitted within a timeframe that allows it to be taken into account as part of the review will be considered.

The Department has also committed to continue to work with stakeholders to monitor the effects of the charging regulations on vulnerable groups after the review process has concluded. Therefore, if new evidence concerning the impact of the impact of ‘The National Health Service (Charges to Overseas Visitors) (Amendment) Regulations 2017’ is presented to the Department, after the time at which it can be considered as part of the review process, it will be considered in accordance with the Secretary of State’s ongoing duties. The Department does not see any reason to change the position, outlined above, which has already been communicated to stakeholders.