National Health Service Act 2006

Section 13

SCHEDULE 2Strategic Health Authorities

Corporate status

1Each Strategic Health Authority is a body corporate.

Pay and allowances

2(1)The Secretary of State may pay to—

(a)the chairman of a Strategic Health Authority, and

(b)any member of a Strategic Health Authority who is appointed by the Secretary of State,

such remuneration as he may determine with the approval of the Treasury.

(2)The Secretary of State may provide as he may determine with the approval of the Treasury for the payment of a pension, allowance or gratuity to or in respect of the chairman of a Strategic Health Authority.

(3)Where a person ceases to be chairman of a Strategic Health Authority, and it appears to the Secretary of State that there are special circumstances which make it right for that person to receive compensation, the Secretary of State may make him a payment of such amount as the Secretary of State may determine with the approval of the Treasury.

(4)The Secretary of State may pay to a member of a Strategic Health Authority, or of a committee or sub-committee of, or joint committee or joint sub-committee including, a Strategic Health Authority, such travelling and other allowances (including attendance allowance or compensation for the loss of remunerative time) as he may determine with the approval of the Treasury.

(5)Allowances may not be paid under sub-paragraph (4) except in connection with the exercise, in such circumstances as the Secretary of State may determine with the approval of the Treasury, of such functions as he may so determine.

(6)Payments under this paragraph must be made at such times, and in such manner and subject to such conditions, as the Secretary of State may determine with the approval of the Treasury.

Membership of Strategic Health Authorities

3A Strategic Health Authority consists of—

(a)a chairman appointed by the Secretary of State,

(b)not more than a prescribed number of persons (not being officers of the Strategic Health Authority) appointed by the Secretary of State, and

(c)a prescribed number of officers of the Strategic Health Authority.

4Regulations may provide that all or any of the persons appointed as members of a Strategic Health Authority under paragraph 3(b)—

(a)must hold posts of a prescribed description, or

(b)must fulfil any other prescribed conditions.

5Regulations must provide that each of the persons who is a member of a Strategic Health Authority under paragraph 3(c) must either—

(a)hold an office of the Strategic Health Authority of a prescribed description, or

(b)be appointed by the chairman of the Strategic Health Authority and the persons appointed as members of the Strategic Health Authority under paragraph 3(c).

6Regulations may provide for a person of a prescribed description who is not an officer of a Strategic Health Authority to be treated for the purposes of this Schedule, and any other prescribed provision relating to members of (or of committees or sub-committees of) Strategic Health Authorities, as if he were such an officer.

Staff

7(1)A Strategic Health Authority may employ such officers as it may determine.

(2)A Strategic Health Authority may—

(a)pay its officers such remuneration and allowances, and

(b)employ them on such other terms and conditions,

as it may determine.

(3)A Strategic Health Authority must, in exercising its powers under sub-paragraph (1) or (2), act in accordance with regulations and any directions given by the Secretary of State.

(4)Regulations and directions under sub-paragraph (3) may make provision with respect to any matter connected with the employment by a Strategic Health Authority of its officers, including in particular provision—

(a)with respect to the qualifications of persons who may be employed as officers of a Strategic Health Authority,

(b)requiring a Strategic Health Authority to employ a chief officer and officers of such other descriptions as may be prescribed and to employ, for the purpose of performing prescribed functions of the Strategic Health Authority or any other body, officers having prescribed qualifications or experience, and

(c)as to the manner in which any officers of a Strategic Health Authority must be appointed.

(5)A direction under sub-paragraph (3) may relate to a particular officer or class of officer specified in the direction.

(6)Regulations and directions under sub-paragraph (3) may provide for approvals or determinations to have effect from a date specified in them.

(7)The date may be before or after the date of giving the approvals or making the determinations but may not be before if it would be to the detriment of the officers to whom the approvals or determinations relate.

(8)Regulations may provide for the transfer of officers from one Strategic Health Authority to another Strategic Health Authority or to a Special Health Authority, and for arrangements under which the services of an officer of a Strategic Health Authority are placed at the disposal of another Strategic Health Authority, a Special Health Authority or a local authority.

(9)Sub-paragraph (11) applies where the registration of a dental practitioner in the dentists register is suspended—

(a)by an interim suspension order under section 32 of the Dentists Act 1984 (c. 24) (interim orders), or

(b)by a direction or an order of the Health Committee, the Professional Performance Committee or the Professional Conduct Committee of the General Dental Council under any of sections 27B, 27C or 30 of that Act following a relevant determination that that practitioner’s fitness to practise is impaired.

(10)For the purposes of sub-paragraph (9), a “relevant determination” that a practitioner’s fitness to practice is impaired is a determination which is based solely on—

(a)the ground mentioned in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section 27 of the Dentists Act 1984 (deficient professional performance),

(b)the ground mentioned in paragraph (c) of that subsection (adverse physical or mental health), or

(c)both those grounds.

(11)The suspension does not terminate any contract of employment made between the dental practitioner and a Strategic Health Authority, but a person whose registration is so suspended must not perform any duties under a contract made between him and a Strategic Health Authority which involves the practice of dentistry within the meaning of the Dentists Act 1984.

(12)Directions may be given—

(a)by the Secretary of State to a Strategic Health Authority to place the services of any of its officers at the disposal of another Strategic Health Authority or of a Special Health Authority,

(b)by the Secretary of State to any Strategic Health Authority to employ as an officer of the Strategic Health Authority any person who is or was employed by another Strategic Health Authority or by a Special Health Authority and is specified in the direction.

(13)Regulations made in pursuance of this paragraph may not require that all consultants employed by a Strategic Health Authority must be so employed whole-time.

8(1)The Secretary of State must, before he makes regulations under paragraph 7, consult such bodies as he may recognise as representing persons who, in his opinion, are likely to be affected by the regulations.

(2)The Secretary of State must, before he gives directions to a Strategic Health Authority under paragraph 7(12) in respect of any officer of a Strategic Health Authority—

(a)consult the officer about the directions,

(b)satisfy himself that the Strategic Health Authority of which he is an officer has consulted the officer about the placing or employment in question, or

(c)in the case of a direction under paragraph 7(12)(a), consult with respect to the directions such body as he may recognise as representing the officer.

(3)But if the Secretary of State—

(a)considers it necessary to give directions under paragraph 7(12)(a) for the purpose of dealing temporarily with an emergency, and

(b)has previously consulted bodies recognised by him as representing the relevant officers about the giving of directions for that purpose,

the Secretary of State may disregard sub-paragraph (2) in relation to the directions.

Miscellaneous

9Provision may be made by regulations as to—

(a)the appointment and tenure of office of the chairman, vice-chairman and members of a Strategic Health Authority,

(b)the appointment and tenure of office of any members of a committee or sub-committee of a Strategic Health Authority who are not members of the Strategic Health Authority,

(c)the appointment and tenure of office of any members of a joint committee or joint sub-committee including a Strategic Health Authority who are not members of the Strategic Health Authority,

(d)the circumstances in which a member of a Strategic Health Authority who is (or must be regarded as) an officer of the Strategic Health Authority may be suspended from performing his functions as a member,

(e)the appointment and constitution of committees and sub-committees (and joint committees and joint sub-committees) of (or including) a Strategic Health Authority (including any such committees consisting wholly or partly of persons who are not members of the Strategic Health Authority in question), and

(f)the procedure of a Strategic Health Authority and of such committees and sub-committees as are mentioned in paragraph (e).

10Regulations made under this Schedule may make provision (including provision modifying this Schedule) to deal with cases where the post of chief officer or any other officer of a Strategic Health Authority is held jointly by two or more persons or where the functions of such an officer are in any other way performed by more than one person.

11A Strategic Health Authority may pay subscriptions, of such amounts as the Secretary of State may approve, to the funds of such bodies as he may approve.

12A Strategic Health Authority has power to accept gifts of property (including property to be held on trust, either for the general or any specific purposes of the Strategic Health Authority or for any purposes relating to the health service).

13(1)The Secretary of State may by order provide for the appointment of trustees for a Strategic Health Authority to hold property on trust—

(a)for the general or any specific purposes of the Strategic Health Authority (including the purposes of any specific hospital or other establishment or facility at or from which services are provided by the Strategic Health Authority), or

(b)for any purposes relating to the health service.

(2)An order under sub-paragraph (1) may—

(a)make provision as to the persons by whom trustees must be appointed and generally as to the method of their appointment,

(b)make any appointment subject to such conditions as may be specified in the order (including conditions requiring the consent of the Secretary of State),

(c)make provision as to the number of trustees to be appointed, including provision under which that number may from time to time be determined by the Secretary of State after consultation with such persons as he considers appropriate, and

(d)make provision with respect to the term of office of any trustee and his removal from office.

(3)Where under sub-paragraph (1) trustees have been appointed for a Strategic Health Authority, the Secretary of State may by order provide for the transfer of any trust property from the Strategic Health Authority to the trustees.

14The proceedings of a Strategic Health Authority are not invalidated by any vacancy in its membership or by any defect in a member’s appointment.

15(1)A Strategic Health Authority may—

(a)make available at a hospital for which it has responsibility accommodation or services for patients who give undertakings (or for whom undertakings are given) to pay any charges imposed by the Strategic Health Authority in respect of the accommodation or services, and

(b)make and recover charges in respect of such accommodation or services and calculate them on any basis that it considers to be the appropriate commercial basis.

(2)A Strategic Health Authority may exercise the power conferred by sub-paragraph (1) only if it is satisfied that its exercise—

(a)does not to any significant extent interfere with the performance by the Strategic Health Authority of any function conferred on it under this Act to provide accommodation or services of any kind, and

(b)does not to a significant extent operate to the disadvantage of persons seeking or afforded admission or access to accommodation or services at health service hospitals (whether as resident or non-resident patients) otherwise than under this section.

(3)Before a Strategic Health Authority decides to make accommodation or services available under sub-paragraph (1), it must consult organisations representative of the interests of persons likely to be affected by the decision.

(4)A Strategic Health Authority may allow accommodation or services which are made available under sub-paragraph (1) to be so made available in connection with treatment in pursuance of arrangements—

(a)made by a medical practitioner or dental practitioner serving (whether in an honorary or paid capacity) on the staff of a health service hospital,

(b)for the treatment of private patients of that practitioner.

(5)References in this paragraph to a health service hospital include references to such a hospital within the meaning of section 206 of the National Health Service (Wales) Act 2006 (c. 42), but do not include references to a hospital vested in an NHS trust or an NHS foundation trust.

16(1)Any rights acquired, or liabilities (including liabilities in tort) incurred, in respect of the exercise by a Strategic Health Authority of any function exercisable by it by virtue of section 7 or section 14 are enforceable by or against that Strategic Health Authority (and no other body).

(2)This paragraph does not apply in relation to the joint exercise of any functions by a Strategic Health Authority with another body under section 14(2)(c).

17Provision may be made by regulations with respect to the recording of information by a Strategic Health Authority, and the furnishing of information by a Strategic Health Authority to the Secretary of State, another Strategic Health Authority or a Special Health Authority.