National Health Service Act 2006

[F1[F2Action by the Secretary of State and [F3NHS England]]E+W

[F465K.Decision of NHS England or Secretary of State in case of NHS trustE+W

(1)Within the period of 20 working days beginning with the day on which NHS England receives a final report under section 65I relating to an NHS trust, NHS England must decide what (if any) action to take in relation to the trust.

(2)Within the period of 20 working days beginning with the day on which the Secretary of State receives a final report under section 65I relating to an NHS trust, the Secretary of State must decide what (if any) action to take in relation to the trust.

(3)NHS England and the Secretary of State must consult one another before taking the decision under subsection (1) or (2).

(4)After taking a decision under subsection (1) or (2) NHS England or the Secretary of State (as the case may be) must, as soon as reasonably practicable—

(a)publish a notice of the decision and of the reasons for it;

(b)lay a copy of the notice before Parliament.]

[F565KA [F6NHS England’s] decision in case of NHS foundation trustE+W

(1)Within the period of 20 working days beginning with the day on which [F7NHS England] receives a final report under section 65I relating to an NHS foundation trust, [F7NHS England] must decide whether it is satisfied—

(a)that the action recommended in the final report would achieve the objective set out in section 65DA, and

(b)that the trust special administrator has carried out the administration duties.

(2)In subsection (1)(b), “administration duties” means the duties imposed on the administrator by—

(a)this Chapter,

(b)a direction under this Chapter, or

(c)the administrator's terms of appointment.

(3)If [F8NHS England] is satisfied as mentioned in subsection (1), it must as soon as reasonably practicable provide to the Secretary of State—

(a)the final report, and

(b)the report provided to [F8NHS England] by the Care Quality Commission under section 65D(3).

(4)If [F8NHS England] is not satisfied as mentioned in subsection (1), it must as soon as reasonably practicable give a notice of that decision to the administrator.

(5)Where [F8NHS England] gives a notice under subsection (4), sections 65F to 65J apply in relation to the trust to such extent, and with such modifications, as [F8NHS England] may specify in the notice.

(6)[F9NHS England] must as soon as reasonably practicable after giving a notice under subsection (4)—

(a)publish the notice;

(b)lay a copy of it before Parliament.

65KBSecretary of State's response to [F10NHS England’s] decisionE+W

(1)Within the period of 30 working days beginning with the day on which the Secretary of State receives the reports referred to in section 65KA(3), the Secretary of State must decide whether the Secretary of State is satisfied—

(a)that the persons to which the NHS foundation trust in question provides services under this Act have discharged their functions for the purposes of this Chapter,

(b)that the trust special administrator has carried out the administration duties (within the meaning of section 65KA(1)(b)),

(c)that [F11NHS England] has discharged its functions for the purposes of this Chapter,

[F12(ca)that the Care Quality Commission has discharged its functions for the purposes of this Chapter,]

(d)that the action recommended in the final report would secure the continued provision of the services provided by the trust to which the objective set out in section 65DA applies,

(e)that the recommended action would secure the provision of services that are of sufficient safety and quality to be provided under this Act, and

(f)that the recommended action would provide good value for money.

(2)If the Secretary of State is not satisfied as mentioned in subsection (1), the Secretary of State must as soon as reasonably practicable—

(a)give the trust special administrator a notice of the decision and of the reasons for it;

(b)give a copy of the notice to [F13NHS England] [F14and the Care Quality Commission];

(c)publish the notice;

(d)lay a copy of it before Parliament.

65KCAction following Secretary of State's rejection of final reportE+W

(1)Within the period of 20 working days beginning with the day on which the trust special administrator receives a notice under section 65KB(2), the administrator must provide to [F15NHS England] the final report varied so far as the administrator considers necessary to secure that the Secretary of State is satisfied as mentioned in section 65KB(1).

(2)Where the administrator provides to [F16NHS England] a final report under subsection (1), section 65KA applies in relation to the report as it applies in relation to a final report under section 65I; and for that purpose, that section has effect as if—

(a)in subsection (1), for “20 working days” there were substituted “10 working days”, and

(b)subsection (3)(b) were omitted.

(3)If the Secretary of State thinks that, in the circumstances, it is not reasonable for the administrator to be required to carry out the duty under subsection (1) within the period mentioned in that subsection, the Secretary of State may by order extend the period.

(4)If an order is made under subsection (3), the administrator must—

(a)publish a notice stating the date on which the period will expire, and

(b)where the administrator is proposing to carry out consultation in response to the notice under section 65KB(2), publish a statement setting out the means by which the administrator will consult during the extended period.

65KDSecretary of State's response to re-submitted final reportE+W

(1)Within the period of 30 working days beginning with the day on which the Secretary of State receives a final report under section 65KA(3) as applied by section 65KC(2), the Secretary of State must decide whether the Secretary of State is, in relation to the report, satisfied as to the matters in section 65KB(1)(a) to (f).

(2)If the Secretary of State is not satisfied as mentioned in subsection (1), the Secretary of State must as soon as reasonably practicable—

(a)publish a notice of the decision and the reasons for it;

(b)lay a copy of the notice before Parliament.

(3)Where the Secretary of State publishes a notice under subsection (2)(a), subsections [F17(5), (6) and] [F18(8A)] apply.

F19(4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F20(5)If the notice states that an integrated care board has failed to discharge a function—

(a)the board is to be treated for the purposes of this Act as having failed to discharge the function,

(b)the Secretary of State may exercise the functions of NHS England under section 14Z61(2), (3)(a) and (5)(a), and

(c)NHS England may not exercise any of its functions under section 14Z61.

(6)Where, by virtue of subsection (5)(b), the Secretary of State exercises the function of NHS England under section 14Z61(3)(a), the integrated care board to which the direction is given must cooperate with the Secretary of State.]

F21(7). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F22(8). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F23(8A)If the notice states that the Care Quality Commission has failed to discharge a function—

(a)the Care Quality Commission is to be treated for the purposes of this Act as having failed to discharge the function, and

(b)the failure is to be treated for those purposes as significant (and section 82 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 applies accordingly).]

(9)Within the period of 60 working days beginning with the day on which the Secretary of State publishes a notice under subsection (2)(a), the Secretary of State must decide what action to take in relation to the trust.

(10)The Secretary of State must as soon as reasonably practicable—

(a)publish a notice of the decision and the reasons for it;

(b)lay a copy of the notice before Parliament.]

65LTrusts coming out of administrationE+W

[F24(1)Subsection (2) applies, in relation to an NHS trust, if NHS England and the Secretary of State both decide under section 65K not to dissolve the trust.

(2)NHS England must make an order specifying a date when the following come to an end—

(a)the appointment of the trust special administrator, and

(b)the suspension of the chair and directors of the trust.

(2A)Subsection (2B) applies, in relation to an NHS foundation trust, if—

(a)the Secretary of State decides under section 65KD(9) not to dissolve the trust, or

(b)the Secretary of State decides under section 65KB(1) or 65KD(1) that the Secretary of State is satisfied of the matters mentioned there, and the action recommended in the final report is to do something other than dissolve the trust.

(2B)NHS England must make an order specifying a date when the following come to an end—

(a)the appointment of the trust special administrator, and

(b)the suspension of the governors, chair and directors of the trust.]

F25(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F25(4). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F25(5). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

[F26(6)Subsection (7) applies in the case of an NHS foundation trust.

(7)If it appears to [F27NHS England] to be necessary in order to comply with Schedule 7, [F27NHS England] may by order—

(a)terminate the office of any governor or of any executive or non-executive director of the trust;

(b)appoint a person to be a governor or an executive or non-executive director of the trust.]

[F2865LATrusts to be dissolvedE+W

(1)This section applies if—

(a)the Secretary of State is satisfied as mentioned in section 65KB(1) or 65KD(1), and

(b)the action recommended in the final report is to dissolve the NHS foundation trust in question.

(2)This section also applies if the Secretary of State decides under section 65KD(9) to dissolve the NHS foundation trust in question.

(3)[F29NHS England] may make an order—

(a)dissolving the trust, and

(b)transferring, or providing for the transfer of, the property and liabilities of the trust [F30—

(i)to an NHS body;

(ii)to the Secretary of State;

(iii)between more than one NHS body or between one or more NHS bodies and the Secretary of State.]

(4)An order under subsection (3) may include provision for the transfer of employees of the trust.

(5)The liabilities that may be transferred [F31to an NHS body] by virtue of subsection (3)(b) include criminal liabilities.]]