National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973 (repealed 28.6.1995)

(34A) (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— in relation to any person to whom an age of compulsory retirement applies by virtue of the relevant superannuation scheme, that age ; and 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.

142

In section 43(2) of that Act (which provides that, subject to the provisions of that section, Schedule 1 to the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967 shall apply to persons who have held office as Health Service Commissioner for Scotland), after the word " section " there shall be inserted the words " and subsection (4) to (6) of section 32 of the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973 ".

143

For subsection (2) of section 44 of that Act (administrative provisions), there shall be substituted the following subsection—

(2) Any function of the 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 section 32 of the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973.

144

For subsection (2) of section 45 of that Act (bodies and action subject to investigation), there shall be substituted the following subsection—

(2) Subject to the provisions of this section, the Commissioner may investigate— (a) an alleged failure in a service provided by a body subject to investigation; or (b) an alleged failure of a body subject to investigation 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 body subject to investigation, 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. In this subsection, " function " includes a power and a duty.

145

• (1) In section 46(2) of that Act (provisions relating to complaints), for the word " other " there shall be substituted the words " by some body or ".

• (2) In subsection (4) of that section at the end there shall be inserted the words " ; but the Commissioner may disregard the preceding provisions of this subsection in relation to a complaint made by an officer of the body subject to investigation 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. "

146

In section 47 of that Act (application of certain provisions of the Parliamentary Commissioner Act 1967), the words " except subsection (4)", where they first occur, shall be omitted; and at the end there shall be added the words " In sections 7(1) and 8(1) of the said Act of 1967 as applied by this section, the words ' the principal officer of' and ' Minister' shall be omitted. ".

147

For section 65(3) of that Act (extent), there shall be substituted the following subsection—

(3) The following provisions of this Act shall extend to England and Wales, namely, this subsection, sections 42(4), 47, 48(5), 50(1), paragraphs 104, 128, 130, 143 to 145 and 152 of Schedule 6, Schedule 7 so far as it relates to paragraphs 3 and 5 of Schedule 3 to the Redundancy Payments Act 1965 and subsection (1) of this section so far as it relates to the other provisions mentioned in this subsection.

148

After section 65(3) of that Act there shall be inserted the following subsection—

(4) The following provisions of this Act shall extend to Northern Ireland, namely, this subsection, sections 42(4), 47, 48(5), 50(1), paragraphs 104, 128, 130, 143 to 145 and 152 of Schedule 6 and subsection (1) of this section so far as it relates to the other provisions mentioned in this subsection.

149

In Schedule 6 to that Act (minor and consequential amendments to enactments), after paragraph 20 there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

(20A) In section 18(5) (application to Scotland of provisions in respect of superannuation of officers of certain hospitals), at the end there shall be added the words ", for the reference to Regional Hospital Boards or Area Health Authorities of a reference to Health Boards, and for the reference to services under the National Health Service Acts 1946 to 1973 of a reference to services under the National Health Service (Scotland) Acts 1947 to 1973

.

150

In Schedule 6 to that Act (minor and consequential amendments to enactments), after paragraph 156 there shall be inserted the following paragraph—

(156A) (1) In section 156(1)(c) of the Road Traffic Act 1972 (which provides that payment for hospital treatment of a traffic casualty will be made payable to the Secretary of State or to a Regional Hospital Board or Board of Management), for the Words from " Regional" to " Management" there shall be substituted the words " Health Board

.

Local Government Act 1972

151

• (1) At the end of section 113(1) of the Local Government Act 1972 (which gives power to a local authority to place officers at the disposal of another local authority) there shall be inserted the following subsection—

(1A) Without prejudice to any powers exercisable apart from this section, a local authority may enter into an agreement with a Regional Health Authority, Area Health Authority or special health authority— (a) for the placing at the disposal of the Regional or Area Health Authority or special health authority for the purposes of their functions, on such terms as may be provided by the agreement, of the services of officers employed by the local authority ; (b) for the placing at the disposal of the local authority for the purposes of their functions, on such terms as may be provided by the agreement, of the services of officers employed by the Regional or Area Health Authority or the special health authority ; but a local authority shall not enter into an agreement in pursuance of paragraph (a) of this subsection in respect of any officer without consulting him.

• (2) After section 113(2) of that Act there shall be inserted the following subsection—

(3) An officer whose services are placed at the disposal of a local authority in pursuance of subsection (1A) of this section shall be treated as an officer of the authority for the purposes of any enactment relating to the discharge of local authorities' functions.

152

In section 261(7) of that Act (which relates to the remuneration which officers of local authorities are to be deemed to be receiving for the purposes of the provisions of that Act relating to the transfer of officers and compensation for loss of office), after the words "loss of office" there shall be inserted the words " or for the purposes of the provisions of the National Health Service Reorganisation Act 1973 relating to the transfer of officers and the provisions of section 24 of the Superannuation Act 1972 (which among other things relate to compensation for loss of office) ".

SCHEDULE 5

Reorganisation of national health service.

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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—

Editorial notes