National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973 (repealed 28.6.1995)

• (2) If it appears to the Secretary of State at any time that all the functions of any Special Trustees should be discharged by one or more Health Authorities then, whether or not there has been any such change as is mentioned in the preceding subsection, he may by order provide for the transfer of all trust property from the Special Trustees to the Health Authority or, in such proportions as he may specify in the order, to those Health Authorities.

• (3) Before acting under this section the Secretary of State shall consult the Health Authorities and Special Trustees concerned.

Application of trust property previously held for general hospital purposes

27

• (1) This section applies—

• (a) to property which is transferred under section 23 of this Act; and

• (b) to property which is transferred under section 24 of this Act and which immediately before the appointed day was, in accordance with any provision contained in or made under section 7 of the principal Act, applicable for purposes relating to hospital services or relating to some form of research,

and this section shall continue to apply to the property after any further transfer under the preceding section.

• (2) The person holding the property after the transfer or last transfer shall secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the objects of any original endowment and the observance of any conditions attached thereto, including in particular conditions intended to preserve the memory of any person or class of persons, are not prejudiced by the provisions of this Part of this Act.

In this subsection “original endowment” means a hospital endowment which was transferred under section 7 of the principal Act and from which the property in question is derived.

• (3) Subject to the preceding subsection, the property shall be held on trust for such purposes relating to hospital services (including research), or to any other part of the health service associated with any hospital, as the person holding the property thinks fit.

• (4) Where the person holding the property is a body of Special Trustees, the power conferred by the preceding subsection shall be exercised as respects the hospitals for which they are appointed.

Application of trust property: further provisions

28

Special Trustees for a university or teaching hospital

29

• (1) The Secretary of State shall appoint bodies of trustees (in this Act referred to as Special Trustees) for the hospital or hospitals which, immediately before the abolition of a preserved Board, were controlled and managed by any University Hospital Management Committee or Board of Governors (excluding any body on whose request an order was made in pursuance of section 24(2) of this Act . . . ), and those trustees shall hold and administer the property transferred to them under this Act.

• (2) Special Trustees shall have power to accept, hold and administer any property on trust for all or any purposes relating to hospital services (including research), or to any other part of the health service associated with hospitals, being a trust which is wholly or mainly for hospitals for which the Special Trustees are appointed.

• (3) The number of trustees for any hospital or hospitals shall be such as the Secretary of State may from time to time determine after consultation with such bodies and persons as he considers appropriate.

• (4) The term of office of any Special Trustee shall be fixed by the Secretary of State, but a Special Trustee may be removed by the Secretary of State at any time during his term of office.

Endowments: supplementary provisions

30

• (1) Where by section 24, 25 or 26 of this Act, or by an order under any of those sections, property is transferred to two or more authorities, it shall be apportioned by them in such proportions as they may agree or as may in default of agreement be determined by the Secretary of State:

• (2) Where property is so apportioned, the Secretary of State may by order make any consequential amendments of the trust instrument relating to the property.

• (3) In sections 21 to 29 of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “Health Authority” means a Regional or Area Health Authority or a special health authority; and

• “University Hospital Management Committee” means a Hospital Management Committee of a hospital or group of hospitals designated as a university hospital under section 5(1) of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968.

• (4) any provision in the said sections for the transfer of any property includes provision for the transfer of any rights and liabilities arising from that property.

• (5) Nothing in the said sections shall affect any power of Her Majesty, the court (as defined in the Charities Act 1993) or any other person to alter the trusts of any charity.

Part III

Appointment and tenure of office

31

Salaries and pensions

32

• (1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4) of this section, there shall be paid to the holder of the office of a Commissioner such salary as the House of Commons may by resolution from time to time determine, and any such resolution may take effect from the date on which it is passed or from another date specified in the resolution.

• (2) Subject to subsections (5) and (6) of this section, Schedule 1 to the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 (which relates to pensions and other benefits) shall have effect with respect to persons who have held office as a Commissioner as it has effect with respect to persons who have held office as the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration.

• (3) The salary payable to a holder of the office of a Commissioner shall be abated by the amount of any pension payable to him in respect of any public office in the United Kingdom or elsewhere to which he has previously been appointed or elected ; but any such abatement shall be disregarded in computing that salary for the purposes of the said Schedule 1.

• (4) A person holding the office of Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and one or more of the offices of Health Service Commissioner for England, Health Service Commissioner for Scotland and Health Service Commissioner for Wales shall so long as he does so be entitled only to the salary pertaining to the first-mentioned office; and a person holding two or more of those offices other than that of Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration shall so long as he does so be entitled only to the salary pertaining to such one of those offices as he selects.

• (5) A person—

• (a) shall not be entitled to make simultaneously different elections in pursuance of paragraph 1 of the said Schedule 1 in respect of different offices mentioned in the preceding subsection ; and

• (b) shall, if he has made or is treated as having made an election in pursuance of that paragraph in respect of such an office, be deemed to have made the same election in respect of all such other offices to which he is or is subsequently appointed;

and no account shall be taken for the purposes of that Schedule of a period of service in such an office if salary in respect of the office was not paid for that period.

• (6) Subject to the preceding subsection, the Minister for the Civil Service may by regulations provide that the said Schedule 1 shall have effect, in relation to persons who have held more than one of the offices mentioned in subsection (4) of this section, with such modifications as the said Minister considers necessary in consequence of their having held more than one of those offices; and it is hereby declared that different regulations may be made in pursuance of paragraph 4 of that Schedule in relation to different offices so mentioned.

• (7) Any salary, pension or other benefit payable by virtue of this section shall be charged on and issued out of the Consolidated Fund.

Administrative provisions

33

• (1) A Commissioner may appoint such officers as he may determine with the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service as to numbers and conditions of service; and it shall be the duty of the Health Service Commissioner for Wales to include among his officers such persons having a command of the Welsh language as he considers are needed to enable him to investigate complaints in Welsh.

• (2) Any function of a Commissioner under this Part of this Act may be performed by any officer of the Commissioner authorised for that purpose by him or by any officer so authorised of another Commissioner mentioned in subsection (4) of the preceding section.

• (3) To assist him in any investigation a Commissioner may obtain advice from any person who in his opinion is qualified to give it and may pay such fees or allowances to any such person as he may determine with the approval of the said Minister.

• (4) The expenses of a Commissioner under this Part of this Act, to such amount as may be sanctioned by the said Minister, shall be defrayed out of money provided by Parliament.

Matters subject to investigation

34

• (1) In this Part of this Act " relevant body " means any of the following bodies, namely—

• (a) Regional Hospital Boards ;

• (b) Boards of Governors ;

• (c) Hospital Management Committees ;

• (d) Executive Councils;

• (e) Regional Health Authorities ;

• (f) Area Health Authorities;

• (g) any special health authority established on or before the appointed day;

• (h) any special health authority which is established after that day and is designated by Order in Council as an authority to which this paragraph applies ;

• (i) Family Practitioner Committees ; and

• (j) the Public Health Laboratory Service Board ;

and, except where the context otherwise requires, any reference in this Part of this Act to a relevant body includes a reference to an officer of the body.

• (2) The Health Service Commissioner for England shall not conduct an investigation under this Part of this Act in respect of the Welsh Hospital Board, any Hospital Management Committee responsible for hospitals in Wales, any Executive Council or Area Health Authority of which the area is in Wales, the Family Practitioner Committee established by such an Authority, or a special health authority exercising functions only or mainly in Wales, and the Health Service Commissioner for Wales shall not conduct such an investigation in respect of a relevant body other than one of the bodies aforesaid.

• (3) Subject to the provisions of this section, a Commissioner may investigate—

• (a) an alleged failure in a service provided by a relevant body; or

• (b) an alleged failure of a relevant body to provide a service which it was a function of the body to provide ; or

• (c) any other action taken by or on behalf of a relevant body,

in a case where a complaint is duly made by or on behalf of any person that he has sustained injustice or hardship in consequence of the failure or in consequence of maladministration connected with the other action.

• (4) Except as hereafter provided, a Commissioner shall not conduct an investigation under this Part of this Act in respect of any of the following matters—

• (a) any action in respect of which the person aggrieved has or had a right of appeal, reference or review to or before a tribunal constituted by or under any enactment or by virtue of Her Majesty's prerogative;

• (b) any action in respect of which the person aggrieved has or had a remedy by way of proceedings in any court of law:

Provided that a Commissioner may conduct an investigation notwithstanding that the person aggrieved has or had such a right or remedy, if satisfied that in the particular circumstances it is not reasonable to expect him to resort or have resorted to it.

• (5) Without prejudice to the preceding subsection, a Commissioner shall not conduct an investigation under this Part of this Act in respect of any such action as is described in Schedule 3 to this Act; and nothing in this section shall be construed as authorising such an investigation in respect of action taken in connection with any general medical services, general dental services, general ophthalmic services or pharmaceutical services by a person providing the services.

• (6) Her Majesty may by Order in Council amend the said Schedule 3 so as to exclude from the provisions of that Schedule action described in paragraph 3 or 4 of the Schedule.

• (7) In determining whether to initiate, continue or discontinue an investigation under this Part of this Act, a Commissioner shall, subject to the preceding provisions of this section, act in accordance with his own discretion; and any question whether a complaint is duly made to a Commissioner under this Part of this Act shall be determined by the Commissioner.

Provisions relating to complaints

35

• (1) A complaint under this Part of this Act may be made by any individual, or by any body of persons whether incorporated or not, not being—

• (a) a local authority or other authority or body constituted for purposes of the public service or of local government or for the purposes of carrying on under national ownership any industry or undertaking or part of an industry or undertaking;

• (b) any other authority or body whose members are appointed by Her Majesty or any Minister of the Crown or government department, or whose revenues consist wholly or mainly of money provided by Parliament.

• (2) Where the person by whom a complaint might have been made under the preceding provisions of this Part of this Act has died or is for any reason unable to act for himself, the complaint may be made by his personal representative or by a member of his family or by some body or individual suitable to represent him; but except as aforesaid and as provided by subsection (5) of this section a complaint shall not be entertained under this Part of this Act unless made by the person aggrieved himself.

• (3) A complaint shall not be entertained under this Part of this Act by a Commissioner unless it is made in writing to him by or on behalf of the person aggrieved not later than one year from the day on which the person aggrieved first had notice of the matters alleged in the complaint; but a Commissioner may conduct an investigation pursuant to a complaint not made within that period if he considers it reasonable to do so.

• (4) Before proceeding to investigate a complaint a Commissioner shall satisfy himself that the complaint has been brought by or on behalf of the person aggrieved to the notice of the relevant body in question and that that body has been afforded a reasonable opportunity to investigate and reply to the complaint; but a Commissioner shall disregard the preceding provisions of this subsection in relation to a complaint made by an officer of the relevant body in question on behalf of the person aggrieved if the officer is authorised by virtue of subsection (2) of this section to make the complaint and the Commissioner is satisfied that in the particular circumstances those provisions ought to be disregarded.

• (5) Notwithstanding anything in the preceding provision of this section, a relevant body—

• (a) may itself (excluding its officers) refer to a Commissioner a complaint that a person has, in consequence of a failure or maladministration for which the body is responsible, sustained such injustice or hardship as is mentioned in section 34(3) of this Act if the complaint—

• (i) is made in writing to the relevant body by that person or by a person authorised by virtue of subsection (2) of this section to make the complaint to the Commissioner on his behalf, and

• (ii) is so made not later than one year from the day mentioned in subsection (3) of tins section or within such other period as the Commissioner considers appropriate in any particular case ; but

• (b) shall not be entitled to refer a complaint in pursuance of the preceding paragraph after the expiration of three months beginning with the day on which the body received the complaint;

and a complaint referred to a Commissioner in pursuance of this subsection shall, subject to section 34(7) of this Act, be deemed to be duly made to him under this Part of this Act.

Application of certain provisions of Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967

36

The following provisions of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 shall, with any necessary modifications, apply to the Commissioners, their officers and a relevant body as they apply to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration, his officers and a department concerned, namely—

• (a) section 7 (procedure in respect of investigations);

• (b) section 8 (evidence);

• (c) section 9 (obstruction and contempt);

• (d) section 11 (secrecy of information), except subsection (4);

but in sections 7(1) and 8(1) of that Act as applied by this section the words " the principal officer of " and " Minister " shall be omitted.

Reports by Commissioners

37

• (1) In any case where a Commissioner conducts an investigation under this Part of this Act, he shall send a report of the results of his investigation—

• (a) to the person who made the complaint;

• (b) to the relevant body in question ;

• (c) to any person who is alleged in the complaint to have taken or authorised the action complained of;

• (d) if the relevant body in question is not an Area Health Authority for an area in England, a Hospital Management Committee or a Family Practitioner Committee, to the Secretary of State ;

• (e) if that body is an Area Health Authority for an area in England, to the Regional Health Authority of which the region includes that area ;

• (f) if that body is a Hospital Management Committee, to the Regional Hospital Board by which the Committee was appointed; and

• (g) if that body is a Family Practitioner Committee, to the Area Health Authority by which the Committee was established.

• (2) In any case where a Commissioner decides not to conduct an investigation under this Part of this Act, he shall send a statement of his reasons for doing so to the person who made the complaint and to the relevant body in question.

• (3) If, after conducting an investigation under this Part of this Act, it appears to a Commissioner that the person aggrieved has sustained such injustice or hardship as is mentioned in section 34(3) of this Act and that the injustice or hardship has not been and will not be remedied, he may if he thinks fit make a special report to the Secretary of State who shall, as soon as is reasonably practicable, lay a copy of the report before each House of Parliament.

• (4) Each of the Commissioners shall annually make to the Secretary of State a report on the performance of his functions under this Part of this Act and may from time to time make to the Secretary of State such other reports with respect to those functions as the Commissioner thinks fit, and the Secretary of State shall lay a copy of every such report before each House of Parliament.

• (5) For the purposes of the law of defamation, the publication of any matter by a Commissioner in sending or making a report in pursuance of subsection (1), (3) or (4) of this section or in sending a statement in pursuance of subsection (2) of this section shall be absolutely privileged.

Transitional provisions

38

Regulations may provide that, where a relevant body is abolished in pursuance of this Act, any prescribed provisions of this Part of this Act and Schedule 3 to this Act shall apply, with or without prescribed modifications, in relation to a complaint in respect of the body which was duly made to a Commissioner under this Part of this Act before the date of the abolition or is made in accordance with the regulations within the period of one year beginning with that date.

Interpretation of Part III

39

• (1) In this Part of this Act and Schedule 3 to this Act—

• " action " includes failure to act, and other expressions connoting action shall be construed accordingly;

• " a Commissioner " means the Health Service Commissioner for England or the Health Service Commissioner for Wales and " the Commissioners " means both those persons;

• " person aggrieved " means the person who claims or is alleged to have sustained such injustice or hardship as is mentioned in section 34(3) of this Act; and

• " relevant body " has the meaning assigned to it by section 34(1) of this Act.

• (2) It is hereby declared that nothing in this Part of this Act authorises or requires a Commissioner to question the merits of a decision taken without maladministration by a relevant body in the exercise of a discretion vested in that body.

Part IV — Miscellaneous and general

Miscellaneous

Special hospitals

40

Nursing homes and mental nursing homes

41

Pharmaceutical services

42

Miscellaneous functions of Secretary of State

43

• (1) If the Secretary of State considers that any accommodation provided by him by virtue of the Health Service Acts is suitable for use in connection with the provision of general medical services, general dental services, general ophthalmic services or pharmaceutical services he may make the accommodation available on such terms as he thinks fit to persons providing any of those services.

• (2) The Secretary of State may permit any person who is a medical or dental practitioner, a registered pharmacist, an ophthalmic or dispensing optician or a person of any other description determined by him and who provides services under the Health Service Acts to use for the purpose of private practice, on such terms as the Secretary of State may determine, facilities available at accommodation provided by the Secretary of State by virtue of the Health Service Acts.

• (3) Where the Secretary of State makes arrangements with medical practitioners for the vaccination or immunisation of persons against disease, he shall so far as reasonably practicable give every medical practitioner providing general medical services an opportunity to participate in the arrangements.

• (4) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State to make available, in premises provided by him by virtue of the Health Service Acts, such facilities as he considers are reasonably required, by any university which has a medical or dental school, in connection with clinical teaching and with research connected with clinical medicine or, as the case may be, clinical dentistry.

• (5) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prejudicing any powers exercisable by the Secretary of State apart from this section.

Provision for early retirement in lieu of compensation for loss of office

44

• (1) In order to facilitate the early retirement of certain persons who might otherwise suffer, in consequence of this Act, loss of employment or loss or diminution of emoluments, any person who—

• (a) is in any such employment as may be prescribed for the purposes of this subsection; and

• (b) attains or has attained the age of fifty on or before a prescribed date; and

• (c) fulfils such other conditions as may be prescribed;

may by notice given before a prescribed date and in the prescribed manner elect that this section shall apply to him.

• (2) Where any person has made an election under the preceding subsection, then, unless within a prescribed period notice of objection to the election is given to him by a prescribed person, this section shall apply to him on his retirement within a prescribed period and before attaining the normal retiring age and compensation on his retirement shall not be payable to or in respect of him in pursuance of section 24 of the Superannuation Act 1972 (which among other things relates to compensation for loss of office).

• (3) Subject to the following subsection, the Secretary of State shall by regulations provide for the payment by him to or in respect of a person to whom this section applies of benefits corresponding, as near as may be, to those which would have been paid to or in respect of that person under the relevant superannuation scheme if—

• (a) at the date of his retirement he had attained the normal retiring age; and

• (b) the actual period of his reckonable service were increased by such period as may be prescribed, not exceeding the period beginning on the date of his retirement and ending on the date on which he would attain the normal retiring age.

• (4) Regulations in pursuance of the preceding subsection shall be so framed as to secure that the sums which would otherwise be payable under the regulations in accordance with that subsection to or in respect of any person are reduced to take account of any benefits payable to or in respect of him under the relevant superannuation scheme.

• (5) Any sums payable under regulations made in pursuance of subsection (3) of this section shall be treated for the purposes of section 73 of the Finance Act 1972 (under which compensation for loss of office or employment is chargeable to tax as a payment made on retirement or removal from office or employment) in like manner as compensation paid in pursuance of the said section 24.

• (6) In this section—

• “normal retiring age” means—

• (a) in relation to any person to whom an age of compulsory retirement applies by virtue of the relevant superannuation scheme, that age; and

• (b) in relation to any other person, the age of sixty-five in the case of a man and sixty in the case of a woman or, in either case, such other age as may be prescribed;

• “reckonable service”, in relation to any person, means service in respect of which benefits are payable under the relevant superannuation scheme; and

• “relevant superannuation scheme”, in relation to any person, means the instrument which is applicable in the case of his employment and which makes provision with respect to the pensions, allowances or gratuities which, subject to the fulfilment of certain requirements and conditions, are to be, or may be, paid to or in respect of persons in that employment.

Overseas aid

45

Notices of births and deaths

46

• (1) It shall be the duty of each registrar of births and deaths to furnish, to the prescribed medical officer of the Area Health Authority of which the area includes the whole or part of the sub-district of the registrar, such particulars of each birth and death which occurred in the area of the Authority as are entered after this subsection comes into force in a register of births or deaths kept for that sub-district; and regulations may make provision as to the manner in which and the times at which particulars are to be furnished in pursuance of this subsection.

• (2) In section 203 of the Public Health Act 1936 (which among other things provides for the notification of births to medical officers of health of welfare authorities), in subsections (1) and (2) for references to the medical officer of health of the welfare authority there shall be substituted references to the prescribed medical officer of the Area Health Authority, and in subsection (2) for the reference to a welfare authority there shall be substituted a reference to an Area Health Authority and references to a residence shall be omitted.

Financial Provisions

Expenses of new health authorities

47

Expenses and receipts of Secretary of State etc.

48

There shall be paid out of money provided by Parliament—

• (a) any expenses incurred by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this Act; and

• (b) any increase attributable to the provisions of this Act in the sums payable under any other Act out of money so provided;

and any sums received by the Secretary of State by virtue of this Act shall be paid into the Consolidated Fund.

Stamp duty

49

Nothing in section 12 of the Finance Act 1895 (which requires certain Acts and certain instruments relating to the vesting of property by virtue of an Act to be stamped as conveyances on sale) shall apply to this Act or an order made in pursuance of this Act; and stamp duty shall not be payable on such an order.

Remission of charges, and consequential adaptation of 1966 c. 20 s. 6

50

Compensation for loss of rights to sell medical practices

51

In section 36(3)(c) of the principal Act and 37(3)(c) of the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947 (under which regulations must secure that, except in prescribed circumstances, compensation for loss of the right to sell a medical practice is not paid until the retirement or death of the medical practitioner concerned, whichever first occurs), the words from " and secure " to " occurs " shall be omitted.

Miscellaneous financial provisions

52

• (1) If the Secretary of State considers it appropriate for remuneration in respect of services provided by any person in pursuance of Part IV of the principal Act to be paid by a particular body and apart from this subsection the functions of the body do not include the function of paying the remuneration, the Secretary of State may by order confer that function on the body ; and any sums required to enable any body having that function to pay remuneration in respect of such services shall, if apart from this subsection there is no provision authorising the payment of the sums by the Secretary of State or out of money provided by Parliament, be paid by him.

• (2) In deciding whether to make an order under subsection (1) of section 3 of the Local Government Act 1966 (which relates to the variation of rate support grant orders) in respect of the year beginning with 1st April 1974 or 1st April 1975 and what order to make under that subsection in respect of either year, the Secretary of State shall have regard to any relief in respect of the year in question which he considers has been or is likely to be obtained by local authorities in consequence of this Act and was not taken into account in making the relevant rate support grant order.

Supplemental

Acquisition and use of land and other property

53

General ancillary provisions

54

• (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (2) The Secretary of State may by order make such incidental, supplemental, transitional or consequential provision (including provision making modifications of enactments) as he considers appropriate for any of the purposes of this Act or in consequence of or for giving full effect to any provision of this Act; and nothing in the following subsection or any other provision of this Act shall be construed as prejudicing the generality of the power conferred by this subsection.

• (3) An order made by virtue of the preceding subsection may include provision—

• (a) for any thing duly done by a body in the exercise of functions which by virtue of this Act become functions of another body to be deemed to have been duly done by the other body; and

• (b) without prejudice to the generality of the preceding paragraph, for any instrument, in so far as it was made in the exercise of such functions, to continue in force until varied or revoked by the other body.

• (4) In so far as—

• (a) any apportionment, agreement, order or regulation made by virtue of an enactment repealed by this Act; or

• (b) any approval, consent, direction or notice given by virtue of such an enactment; or

• (c) any proceedings begun or thing done by virtue of such an enactment,

could, if a corresponding enactment which is contained in this Act had been in force at the relevant time, have been made, given, begun or done by virtue of the corresponding enactment, it shall, if effective immediately before the relevant corresponding enactment comes into force, continue to have effect thereafter as if made, given, begun or done by virtue of that corresponding enactment.

• (5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Interpretation etc.

55

• (1) Except where the contrary intention appears, in this Act the following expressions have the following meanings—

• “the appointed day” means such day as the Secretary of State may by order appoint;

• “Board of Governors” means a body constituted in pursuance of section 11 of the principal Act as the Board of Governors of a teaching hospital;

• “functions” includes powers and duties;

• “the health service” means the health service established in pursuance of section 1 of the principal Act;

• “the Health Service Acts” means the National Health Service Acts 1946 to 1968 and this Act;

• “local health authority” includes a joint board constituted in pursuance of section 19 of the principal Act and a body exercising delegated functions of such an authority in pursuance of section 46 of the Local Government Act 1958;

• “modifications” includes additions, omissions and amendments;

• “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations;

• “preserved Board” has the meaning assigned to it by section 15(6) of this Act;

• “the principal Act” means the National Health Service Act 1946;

• “regulations” means, subject to subsection (2) of the following section, regulations made by the Secretary of State;

• . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

and any other expression to which a meaning is assigned by Part IV or section 79(1) of the principal Act has that meaning in this Act.

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . it is hereby declared that in this Act “property” includes land.

• (3) Any reference in this Act to any enactment is a reference to it as amended or applied by or under any other enactment including this Act.

Orders and regulations etc.

56

• (1) Any power to make orders or regulations conferred by this Act shall be exercisable by statutory instrument; and

• (a) a statutory instrument made by virtue of this subsection, except an instrument containing only such orders as are mentioned in the following paragraph, . . . shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament;

• (b) a statutory instrument containing only orders made by virtue of section 14(2), 24(2) or (3) or 54 of this Act or orders appointing a day in pursuance of this Act shall be laid before Parliament after being made.

• (2) Any power to make regulations conferred on the Secretary of State by this Act shall, if the Treasury so directs, be exercisable by the Treasury and the Secretary of State acting jointly.

• (3) Any power to make an order conferred by this Act, except sections 15(2)(d), . . . and 24(2) and (3), includes power to vary or revoke the order by a subsequent order made in the exercise of that power; but provisions of an order which appoint a day or provide for an enactment to come into force on a specified day shall not by virtue of this subsection be revoked or varied on or after that day.

• (4) Any power conferred by the Health Service Acts . . . to make orders, regulations or schemes, , may unless the contrary intention appears be exercised—

• (a) either in relation to all cases to which the power extends, or in relation to all those cases subject to specified exceptions, or in relation to any specified cases or classes of case; and

• (b) so as to make, as respects the cases in relation to which it is exercised,—

• (i) the full provision to which the power extends or any less provision (whether by way of exception or otherwise);

• (ii) the same provision for all cases in relation to which the power is exercised, or different provision for different cases or different classes of case, or different provision as respects the same case or class of case for different purposes of those Acts or that section;

• (iii) any such provision either unconditionally or subject to any specified condition,

and includes power to make such incidental or supplemental provision in the orders, regulations, schemes or directions as the persons making or giving them consider appropriate.

• (5) Any directions given in pursuance of any provision of this Act . . . may be varied or revoked by subsequent directions given in pursuance of that provision.

Minor and consequential amendments, and repeals

57

• (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (2) The enactments and Order in Council mentioned in the first and second columns of Schedule 5 to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

• (3) An order bringing any provision of the said Schedule 4 or Schedule 5 into force in pursuance of subsection (3) of the following section may, without prejudice to the generality of that subsection or subsection (4) of the preceding section, provide that the enactment or Order in Council amended or repealed by that provision shall, in such cases and for such periods as are specified in the order, continue to have effect as if the provision were not in force.

• (4) An order bringing any provision of the said Schedule 5 into force as mentioned in the preceding subsection may, without prejudice as therein mentioned, provide that any orders, regulations or other instruments in force by virtue of that provision shall continue in force; and an instrument continued in force in pursuance of this subsection may be varied or revoked by regulations.

• (5) The Secretary of State may by order repeal or amend any provision of any local Act passed before this Act (including an Act confirming a provisional order) or of any order or other instrument made under an Act so passed if it appears to him that the provision is inconsistent with, or has become unnecessary or requires alteration in consequence of, any provision of this Act or corresponds to any provision repealed by this Act.

• (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Citation, commencement and extent

58

• (1) This Act may be cited as the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973,—

• (a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (b) this Act so far as it extends to Scotland and the National Health Service (Scotland) Acts 1947 to 1972 may be cited together as the National Health Service (Scotland) Acts 1947 to 1973.

• (2) The following provisions of this Act shall come into force on the passing of this Act, namely sections 1, 5 to 10, 14 to 21, 23 to 26, 29, 30, 41 (so far as it is applied by sections 16 and 18), 44, 47 to 49, 51 to 57 and this section, Schedules 1 and 2, paragraphs 22, 79, 133, 141, 151 and 152 of Schedule 4 and the entry in Schedule 5 relating to section 36(3)(c) of the principal Act.

• (3) The provisions of this Act which do not come into force in pursuance of the preceeding subsection shall come into force on such day as the Secretary of State may by order appoint; and, without prejudice to the generality of section 56(4) of this Act, different days may be appointed in pursuance of this subsection for different provisions of this Act and for different purposes of the same provision of this Act.

• (4) The Secretary of State may by order provide that this Act shall extend to the Isles of Scilly with such modifications, if any, as are specified in the order; and except as provided in pursuance of this subsection this Act shall not extend to the Isles of Scilly.

• (5) The following provisions only of this Act shall extend to Scotland, namely, this subsection and subsections (1) to (3) of this section, sections 32(4) to (7), 36, 37(5), section 39(1) so far as it relates to those sections, sections 50, 51 and 57, paragraphs 41, 42, 43, 49, 58(2), 59(1), 67, 77 to 82, 96, 102, 104, 106, 109, 123, 128, 130, 133 to 135 and 138 to 150 of Schedule 4, the entries in Schedule 5 relating to the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947, the Dentists Act 1957, the Opticians Act 1958, the Radioactive Substances Act 1960, the Health Visiting and Social Working Training Act 1962, the Redundancy Payments Act 1965, (excluding the reference to paragraph 6), the Ministry of Social Security Act 1966 and the National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1972, and section 56 so far as it relates to subsection (3) of this section, sections 32(6) and 50 and paragraphs 138 and 139 of Schedule 4.

• (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SCHEDULE 1

PART I — Membership of regional and area health authorities

Regional Health Authorities

1

• (1) A Regional Health Authority shall consist of a chairman appointed by the Secretary of State and of such number of other members appointed by him as he thinks fit.

• (2) Except in prescribed cases it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State, before he appoints a member of a Regional Health Authority other than the chairman, to consult with respect to the appointment—

• (a) subject to sub-paragraph (3) of this paragraph, such of the following bodies of which the areas or parts of them are within the region of the Authority, namely, county councils, metropolitan district councils, the Greater London Council, London borough councils and the Common Council of the City of London ;

• (b) the university or universities with which the provision of health services in that region is or is to be associated;

• (c) such bodies as the Secretary of State may recognise as being, either in that region or generally, representative respectively of medical practitioners, dental practitioners, nurses, midwives, registered pharmacists and ophthalmic and dispensing opticians or representative of such other professions as appear to him to be concerned ;

• (d) any federation of workers' organisations which appears to the Secretary of State to be concerned and any voluntary organisation within the meaning of section 13 of this Act and any other body which appear to him to be concerned ; and

• (e) in the case of an appointment of a member falling to be made after the establishment of the Regional Health Authority, that Authority.

• (3) In relation to an appointment of a member falling to be made before the appointed day, the preceding sub-paragraph shall have effect as if for paragraph (a) there were substituted the following paragraph—

• (a) such of the following bodies providing services in the region of the Authority as the Secretary of State thinks fit, namely, Regional Hospital Boards, Boards of Governors, Executive Councils, the Greater London Council and local health authorities.

Area Health Authorities

2

• (1) Subject to paragraph 4 below, an Area Health Authority for an area in England shall consist of the following members—

• (a) a chairman appointed by the Secretary of State ;

• (b) the specified number of members appointed by the relevant Regional Authority after consultation, except in prescribed cases, with the bodies mentioned in sub-paragraph (2) of this paragraph;

• (c) the specified number of members appointed by the relevant Regional Authority on the nomination of the university or universities specified as being associated with the provision of health services in that Authority's region ; and

• (d) the specified number (not less than four) of members appointed by the specified local authority or local authorities.

• (2) The bodies referred to in paragraph (b) of the preceding sub-paragraph are—

• (a) such bodies as the relevant Regional Authority may recognise as being, either in its region or in the area of the Area Health Authority or generally, representative respectively of medical practitioners, dental practitioners, nurses, midwives, registered pharmacists and ophthalmic and dispensing opticians or representative of such other professions as appear to the relevant Regional Authority to be concerned ;

• (b) such other bodies (including any federation of workers' organisations) as appear to the relevant Regional Authority to be concerned, excluding any university which has nominated or is entitled to nominate a member and any local authority which has appointed or is entitled to appoint a member;

• (c) in relation to an appointment of a member falling to be made before the appointed day, such of the Regional Hospital Boards, Hospital Management Committees, Boards of Governors and Executive Councils providing services within the area of the Area Health Authority in question as the relevant Regional Authority thinks fit; and

• (d) in relation to an appointment of a member falling to be made after the establishment of the Area Health Authority in question, that Authority.

3

The preceding paragraph shall apply to an Area Health Authority for an area in Wales as if for any reference to the relevant Regional Authority there were substituted a reference to the Secretary of State and for any reference to England or the region of that Authority there were substituted a reference to Wales.

4

The members of an Area Health Authority (Teaching) shall, in addition to the members appointed in pursuance of paragraph 2 above, include the specified number of members appointed—

• (a) in the case of members falling to be appointed before the appointed day, by the Secretary of State from among the members of and after consultation with such as he thinks fit of—

• (i) the Boards of Governors and Hospital Management Committees of teaching hospitals and university hospitals situated wholly or partly within the area of the Authority in question, or

• (ii) if there is no such Board or Committee, the Hospital Management Committees managing hospitals or groups of hospitals situated wholly or partly within that area ;

• (b) in the case of members falling to be appointed on or after the appointed day to an Area Health Authority (Teaching) of which the area is in England by the relevant Regional Authority from among persons appearing to that Authority to have knowledge of and experience in the administration of a hospital providing substantial facilities for undergraduate or post-graduate clinical teaching ;

• (c) in the case of members falling to be appointed on or after the appointed day to an Area Health Authority (Teaching) of which the area is in Wales, by the Secretary of State from among persons appearing to him to have such knowledge and experience ;

and in this paragraph " university hospital" means a hospital or group of hospitals designated as a university hospital in pursuance of section 5 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968.

Supplemental

5

• (1) References in the preceding provisions of this Schedule to the region or area of an Authority shall, in a case where the Authority has not been established or a region or area for it has not been determined, be construed as a reference to the locality which the Secretary of State considers is to be the region or area of the Authority.

• (2) For the purposes of paragraphs 2 to 4 above—

• " local authority " means the council of a non-metropolitan county, a metropolitan district and a London borough, the Inner London Education Authority and the Common Council of the City of London ;

• " the relevant Regional Authority " means the Regional Health Authority of which the region includes the area of the Area Health Authority in question; and

• " specified " means specified in the order establishing the Area Health Authority in question or, where another order provides for it to be called an Area Health Authority or an Area Health Authority (Teaching), in that other order.

• (3) Where an order establishing an Area Health Authority or another order providing for it to be called an Area Health Authority or an Area Health Authority (Teaching) specifies more than one university in pursuance of paragraph 2(1)(c) above, the order may contain provision as to which of the universities shall, either severally or jointly, nominate all or any of the members falling to be nominated in pursuance of the said paragraph 2(1)(c); and where such an order specifies more than one local authority in pursuance of paragraph 2(1)(d) above, the order may provide for each of the local authorities to appoint in pursuance of the said paragraph 2(1)(d) the number of members specified in the order in relation to that local authority.

PART II — Membership of family practitioner committees

6

• (1) Subject to paragraph 7 below, a Family Practitioner Committee shall consist of thirty members of whom—

• (a) eleven shall be appointed by the Area Health Authority responsible for establishing the Committee and at least one of them must be, but not every one of them shall be, a member of the Authority ;

• (b) four shall be appointed by the local authority entitled in pursuance of paragraph 2(1)(d) above to appoint members of that Authority or, where two or more local authorities are so entitled, by those authorities acting jointly;

• (c) eight shall be appointed by the Local Medical Committee for the area of that Authority and one of them must be, and not more than one shall be, a medical practitioner having the qualifications prescribed in pursuance of section 41 of the principal Act (which relates to ophthalmic services);

• (d) three shall be appointed by the Local Dental Committee for that area ;

• (e) two shall be appointed by the Local Pharmaceutical Committee for that area;

• (f) one shall be an ophthalmic optician appointed by such members of the Local Optical Committee for that area as are ophthalmic opticians ; and

• (g) one shall be a dispensing optician appointed by such members of the said Local Optical Committee as are dispensing opticians;

and the members of a Family Practitioner Committee shall from time to time, in accordance with such procedure as may be prescribed, select one of their members to be the chairman of the Committee.

• (2) If any appointment falling to be made in pursuance of the preceding sub-paragraph by or by certain members of a Local Committee is not made before such date as the Area Health Authority in question may determine for that appointment, the appointment shall be made by that Authority to the exclusion of the Committee or members in question.

• (3) The members of a Local Committee who are mentioned in paragraphs (f) and (g) of sub-paragraph (1) of this paragraph may if they think fit appoint, in addition to the member of a Family Practitioner Committee appointed by them, an ophthalmic or, as the case may be, a dispensing optician to be the deputy of the member so appointed, and the Local Committee by which such a practitioner as is mentioned in paragraph (c) of the said sub-paragraph (1) is appointed in pursuance of that paragraph as a member of a Family Practitioner Committee may if it thinks fit appoint another such practitioner to be his deputy; and a deputy appointed in pursuance of this sub-paragraph may, while the member for whom he is the deputy is absent from any meeting of the relevant Family Practitioner Committee, act as a member of that Committee in the place of the absent member.

• (4) If an Area Health Authority proposes to make before the appointed day an appointment in pursuance of paragraph (a) of sub-paragraph (1) of this paragraph, it shall be the duty of the Authority before it makes the appointment to consult such Executive Councils exercising functions in its area as the Authority considers appropriate.

7

• (1) If it appears to the Secretary of State that, by reason of special circumstances affecting the area of an Area Health Authority, it is appropriate that the Family Practitioner Committee established or to be established by the Authority should not be in accordance with the preceding paragraph, he may by order provide that that paragraph shall apply in relation to the Committee with such modifications as are specified in the order.

• (2) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State—

• (a) before he makes an order in pursuance of the preceding sub-paragraph in respect of a Family Practitioner Committee which is already established to consult the Committee with respect to the order ; and

• (b) in making any such order to have regard to the desirability of maintaining, so far as practicable, the same numerical proportion as between members falling to be appointed by different bodies in pursuance of the preceding paragraph apart from any modification.

PART III — Supplementary provisions relating to new authorities

Corporate status

8

Each Regional Health Authority, Area Health Authority, special health authority and Family Practitioner Committee (hereafter in this Schedule referred to severally as " an authority ") shall be a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal.

Pay and allowances

9

• (1) The Secretary of State may pay to the chairman of an authority other than a Family Practitioner Committee such remuneration as he may determine with the approval of the Minister for the Civil Service.

• (2) The Secretary of State may make such provision as he may determine as aforesaid for the payment of a pension, allowance or gratuity to or in respect of the chairman of an authority other than such a Committee.

• (3) Where a person ceases to be the chairman of an authority other than such a Committee and it appears to the Secretary of State that there are special circumstances which make it right for him to receive compensation, the Secretary of State may make to him a payment of such amount as the Secretary of State may determine as aforesaid.

• (4) The Secretary of State may pay to a member of an authority, or of a committee or sub-committee of an authority, such travelling and other allowances (including attendance allowance or compensation for loss of remunerative time) as he may determine as aforesaid.

• (5) Allowances shall not be paid in pursuance of the preceding sub-paragraph except in connection with the exercise, in such circumstances as the Secretary of State may determine as aforesaid, of such functions as he may so determine.

• (6) Payments in pursuance of this paragraph shall be made at such times and in such manner and subject to such conditions as the Secretary of State may determine as aforesaid.

Staff

10

• (1) An authority other than a Family Practitioner Committee may employ, on such terms as it may determine in accordance with regulations and such directions as may be given by the Secretary of State, such officers as it may so determine ; and regulations made for the purposes of this sub-paragraph may contain provision—

• (a) with respect to the qualifications of persons who may be employed as officers of an authority ;

• (b) requiring an authority to employ, for the purpose of performing prescribed functions of the authority or any other body, officers having prescribed qualifications or experience ; and

• (c) as to the manner in which any officers of an authority are to be appointed.

• (2) Regulations may make provision for the transfer of officers from one authority to another which is not a Family Practitioner Committee and for the making of arrangements under which the services of an officer of an authority are placed at the disposal of another authority or a local authority.

• (3) The Secretary of State may direct an authority to place services of any of its officers at the disposal of another authority and, subject to any directions given by the Secretary of State in pursuance of this sub-paragraph, a Regional Health Authority may direct an Area Health Authority of which the area is included in its region to place services of any of its officers at the disposal of another such Area Health Authority ; and it shall be the duty of an authority to which directions are given in pursuance of this sub-paragraph to comply with the directions.

• (4) The Secretary of State may direct an authority, other than a Family Practitioner Committee, to employ as an officer of the authority any person who is or was employed by another authority and is specified in the direction, and a Regional Health Authority may direct an Area Health Authority of which the area is included in its region to employ as an officer of the Area Health Authority a person who is or was employed by an authority other than the Area Health Authority and is specified in the direction; and it shall be the duty of an authority to which a direction is given in pursuance of this sub-paragraph to comply with the direction.

• (5) Regulations made in pursuance of this paragraph shall not require that all consultants employed by an authority are to be so employed whole-time.

11

• (1) It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State, before he makes regulations in pursuance of the preceding paragraph, to consult such bodies as he may recognise as representing persons who in his opinion are likely to be affected by the regulations.

• (2) Subject to the following sub-paragraph, it shall be the duty of the Secretary of State or as the case may be of a Regional Health Authority, before he or the Authority gives directions to an authority in pursuance of sub-paragraph (3) or (4) of the preceding paragraph in respect of any officer of an authority, to consult the officer about the directions or to satisfy himself or itself that the authority of which he is an officer has consulted the officer about the placing or employment in question or (except in the case of a direction in pursuance of the said sub-paragraph (4)) to consult with respect to the directions such body as he or the Authority may recognise as representing the officer.

• (3) If the Secretary of State or Regional Health Authority considers it necessary to give directions in pursuance of sub-paragraph (3) of the preceding paragraph for the purpose of dealing temporarily with an emergency and has previously consulted bodies recognised by him or the Authority as representing the relevant officers about the giving of such directions for that purpose, the Secretary of State or the Authority shall be entitled to disregard the preceding sub-paragraph in relation to the directions.

Miscellaneous

12

Provision may be made by regulations as to—

• (a) the appointment and tenure of office of the chairman and members of an authority ;

• (b) the appointment of and the exercise of functions by committees and sub-committees of an authority (including joint committees and joint sub-committees of two or more authorities and committees and sub-committees consisting wholly or partly of persons who are not members of the authority in question);

• (c) the procedure of an authority and of such committees and sub-committees as are mentioned in the preceding sub-paragraph.

13

An authority may pay subscriptions, of such amounts as the Secretary of State may approve, to the funds of such bodies as he may approve.

14

The proceedings of an authority shall not be invalidated by any vacancy in its membership or by any defect in the appointment of a member of the authority.

15

• (1) An authority shall, notwithstanding that it is exercising any function on behalf of the Secretary of State or another authority, be entitled to enforce any rights acquired in the exercise of that function, and be liable in respect of any liabilities incurred (including liabilities in tort) in the exercise of that function, in all respects as if it were acting as a principal; and proceedings for the enforcement of such rights and liabilities shall be brought, and brought only, by or as the case may be against the authority in question in its own name.

• (2) An authority shall not be entitled to claim in any proceedings any privilege of the Crown in respect of the discovery or production of documents; but this sub-paragraph shall not prejudice any right of the Crown to withhold or procure the witholding from production of any document on the ground that its disclosures would be contrary to the public interest.

16

Provision may be made by regulations with respect to the recording of information by an authority and the furnishing of information by an authority to the Secretary of State or another authority.

SCHEDULE 2

The teaching hospitals to which the following names are assigned by orders made by virtue of section 11 of the principal Act before the passing of this Act, that is to say—

SCHEDULE 3

1

Action taken in connection with the diagnosis of illness or the care or treatment of a patient, being action which, in the opinion of the Commissioner in question, was taken solely in consequence of the exercise of clinical judgment, whether formed by the person taking the action or by any other person.

2

Action taken by an Executive Council or a Family Practitioner Committee in the exercise of its functions under the National Health Service (Service Committees and Tribunal) Regulations 1956 or any instrument amending or replacing those regulations.

3

Action taken in respect of appointments or removals, pay, discipline, superannuation or other personnel matters in relation to service under the Health Service Acts.

4

Action taken in matters relating to contractual or other commercial transactions, other than in matters arising from arrangements between a relevant body and another body which is not a relevant body for the provision of services for patients by that other body; and in determining what matters arise from such arrangements any arrangements for the provision of services at an establishment maintained by a Minister of the Crown for patients who are mainly members of the armed forces of the Crown shall be disregarded.

5

Action which has been or is the subject of an inquiry under section 70 of the principal Act.

SCHEDULE 4

The Midwives Act 1936

1

In section 2(3) of the Midwives Act 1936 (which relates to the appointment of midwives), the first reference to that Act shall be construed as including a reference to section 2 of the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973.

The Public Health Act 1936

2

In section 1(1) of the Public Health Act 1936 (which imposes on local authorities the duty of carrying the Act into execution), after the words " carry this Act" there shall be inserted the words " , excluding Part VI except section 198, ".

3

In section 143(3) of that Act (which provides that regulations may be made for the treatment of persons affected with certain diseases and specifies the authorities for the enforcement of the regulations), after the words " port health authorities " there shall be inserted the words " Regional Health Authorities, Area Health Authorities or special health authorities ".

4

In section 169(1) of that Act (which provides that a person suffering from a notifiable disease may be removed to a hospital), for the words " Hospital Management Committee or Board of Governors " there shall be substituted the words " Area Health Authority responsible for the administration ".

5

In section 187(2) of that Act (which requires an application for the registration of a person in respect of a nursing home to be accompanied by a fee of £1), for the words from " fee " onwards there shall be substituted the words " fee of such amount as the Secretary of State may prescribe by regulations; and without prejudice to the operation of section 5(2) of the Statutory Instruments Act 1946 any such regulation shall be laid before Parliament ".

6

In section 244 of that Act (which provides that a person living in a common lodging house who is suffering from a notifiable disease may be removed to a hospital), for the words " Hospital Management Committee or Board of Governors " there shall be substituted the words " Area Health Authority responsible for the administration ".

The Education Act 1944

7

In subsection (4) of section 48 of the Education Act 1944 (which requires local education authorities to encourage and assist pupils to take advantage of the facilities for free medical treatment provided in pursuance of that section), for the words " such facilities as aforesaid " there shall be substituted the words " the provision for medical and dental inspection and treatment made for them in pursuance of section 3(1) or 3(2)(a)(i) of the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973 " and for the words " medical treatment provided under this section" there shall be substituted the words " of the provision so made ".

8

In section 114(1) of that Act, at the end of the definition of "Medical officer" there shall be inserted the words " or whose services are made available to that authority by the Secretary of State ".

The Education Act 1946

9

In section 4(2)(c) of the Education Act 1946 (which relates to buildings connected with the carrying out by local education authorities of their functions relating to medical inspection or treatment), for the words from "local" to "treatment" there shall be substituted the words " Secretary of State to carry out the functions conferred on him by section 3 of the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973 ".

The principal Act

10

In section 1 of the principal Act (which among other things provides for the establishment of the national health service and the provision of services in accordance with the following provisions of that Act), in subsection (1) for the words " the following provisions of this Act" there shall be substituted the words " the National Health Service Acts 1946 to 1973 " and in subsection (2) for the words " this Act" there shall be substituted the words " those Acts ".

11

In section 2 of that Act, in subsection (1) (which among other things provides for the Central Health Services Council to give advice to the Secretary of State about the services provided under that Act and any services provided by local health authorities), for the words from " under this Act" to " such authorities " there shall be substituted the words " under the National Health Service Acts 1946 to 1973 " and in subsection (3) (which among other things provides for standing advisory committees to consist partly of members appointed by the Secretary of State after consultation with that Council as being persons of experience in relevant services) the words from "after consultation with that Council" to "those services" shall be omitted.

12

• (1) In section 3(2) of that Act (which relates to the supply as part of the hospital and specialist services of appliances of a more expensive type than the prescribed type and the replacement and repair of appliances), for the words " as part of the hospital and specialist services " in paragraph (a) and the words " as part of the services aforesaid " in paragraph (b) there shall be substituted the words " by him ".

• (2) In section 3(3) of that Act (which relates to the payment by the Secretary of State of travelling expenses in connection with hospital and specialist services), for the words " hospital and specialist services " there shall be substituted the words " any services provided under the National Health Service Acts 1946 to 1973 ".

13

In section 4 of that Act (which relates to hospital accommodation available on part payment), for the words from " in any hospital" to " available " there shall be substituted the words " , at any hospital or group of hospitals vested in the Secretary of State or in which patients are treated under arrangements made by virtue of section 13(1) of the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973 or at the hospitals in a particular area which are vested in him or in which patients are so treated, accommodation in single rooms or small wards which is not for the time being needed by any patient on medical grounds, the Secretary of State may authorise the accommodation to be made available, to such extent as he may determine, ".

14

In section 16(1) of that Act (which relates to research connected with illness), after the word " illness" there shall be inserted the words " and into such other matters connected with any service provided under the National Health Service Acts 1946 to 1973 as the Secretary of State considers appropriate ".

15

In section 17 of that Act (which authorises the Secretary of State to provide a bacteriological service for the control of infectious diseases), for the word " bacteriological" there shall be substituted the word " microbiological ".

16

In section 18 of that Act (which among other things provides that where the Secretary of State has, in providing hospital and specialist services, acquired supplies of human blood for the purpose of carrying out a blood transfusion he may arrange for the supplies to be available to local health authorities and medical practitioners who require them in cases of emergency), for the words from " in providing " to " transfusion" there shall be substituted the words " acquired supplies of human blood for the purposes of any service under the National Health Service Acts 1946 to 1973 " and for the words from " local " to " emergency " there shall be substituted the words " any person " ; and the words " in cases of emergency " where they first occur shall be omitted.

17

• (1) In section 22(1) of that Act (which requires local health authorities to make arrangements for the care, including in particular dental care, of nursing and expectant mothers and young children), the words " including in particular dental care " shall be omitted.

• (2) In section 22(2) of that Act (which authorises the making and recovery of certain charges with the approval of the Minister) the words " with the approval of the Minister " shall be omitted.

18

In section 32 of that Act (which relates to local representative committees)—

• (a) for the words " Executive Council" in subsection (1) there shall be substituted the words " Area Health Authority ";

• (b) for the words " of that area " in subsection (1)(a) there shall be substituted the words " providing general medical services or general ophthalmic services in that area " and for the words " of that area " in subsection (1)(c) there shall be substituted the words " providing general dental services in that area ";

• (c) for the words " Executive Council" in subsection (2) there shall be substituted the words " Family Practitioner Committee for the area of an Area Health Authority in respect of which Local Committees are recognised in pursuance of the foregoing subsection ";