National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1978

Land and other propertyS

79 Purchase of land and moveable property.S

(1)The Secretary of State may purchase by agreement any moveable property and, by agreement or compulsorily, any land which he considers is required for the purposes of any service under this Act [F1and may take any such property or land on lease,], and may use for those purposes any property, heritable or moveable, acquired by him or on his behalf under this Act.

[F2(1A)Without prejudice to any other power of disposal, the Secretary of State may dispose of any land which he considers is no longer required for the purposes of any service under this Act and where he has delegated any of his functions with regard to the acquisition, management or disposal of land to a Health Board or to the Agency, any instrument in connection with the exercise of those functions shall be deemed to be validly executed by him if it is executed on his behalf by any officer of the Health Board or the Agency authorised by him for the purpose; and any instrument so executed shall, for the purposes of section 1(8) and (9) of the Re-organisation of Offices (Scotland) Act M11939, be deemed to have been executed by an officer of the Secretary of State duly authorised by him.]

(2)Where the Secretary of State acquires premises under subsection (1) [F3other than on lease] he may acquire compulsorily, in accordance with Schedule 13, any equipment, furniture or other moveable property used in or in connection with the premises.

(3)Any Health Board or the Agency may acquire on behalf of the Secretary of State any moveable property which may be required for the purposes aforesaid.

(4)For the purpose of the purchase of land by agreement by the Secretary of State—

(a)the Lands Clauses Acts (except so much thereof as relates to the acquisition of land otherwise than by agreement, and the provisions relating to access to the special Act, and except sections 120 to 125 of the M2Lands Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1845), and

(b)section 6 and sections 70 to 78 of the M3Railways Clauses Consolidation (Scotland) Act 1845 (as originally enacted and not as amended by section 15 of the M4Mines (Working Facilities and Support) Act 1923),

are hereby incorporated with this section; and in construing those Acts for the purposes of this section, this section shall be deemed to be the special Act and the Secretary of State shall be deemed to be the promoter of the undertaking.

80 Transferred property free of trusts.S

(1)All property vested in the Secretary of State by virtue of section 6 of the M5National Health Service (Scotland) Act 1947 is so vested free of any trust existing immediately before 5th July 1948; and the Secretary of State may use any such property for the purpose of any of the functions exercisable by him under this Act, but shall so far as practicable secure that the objects for which any such property was used immediately before the said 5th July are not prejudiced by the exercise of the power hereby conferred.

(2)Where the character and associations of any voluntary hospital transferred to the Secretary of State by virtue of the said Act of 1947 are such as to link it with a particular religious denomination, regard shall be had in the general administration of the hospital to the preservation of the character and associations of the hospital.

81 Power of voluntary organisations to transfer property to Secretary of State.S

Notwithstanding anything contained in the constitution or rules of any voluntary organisation formed for the purpose of providing a service of nurses for attendance on the sick in their own home or of midwives, or in any trust deed or other instrument relating to any such organisation or service, any property vested in the organisation or held by any persons on trust for the organisation or service or for any specific purposes connected with the organisation or service may be transferred to the Secretary of State on such terms as may be agreed between the Secretary of State and the organisation or trustees, with a view to the property being used or held by the Secretary of State for purposes similar to the purposes for which it was previously used or held.