Citation, commencement, application and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Strategic Health Authorities (Consultation on Changes) Regulations 2003 and shall come into force on 18th July 2003.

(2) In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the National Health Service Act 1977;

“the 2001 Act” means the Health and Social Care Act 2001;

“overview and scrutiny committee” means a committee—

“Strategic Health Authority Order” means an Order under section 8(4) of the Act.

Consultation requirements for Strategic Health Authority Orders

2.—(1) For the purposes of section 8(5) of the Act, the prescribed consultation which must be completed before the Secretary of State may make a Strategic Health Authority Order is—

(a)consultation by the Strategic Health Authority which is the subject of the proposed Order; or

(b)in the case of an Order to establish a new Strategic Health Authority, by any Strategic Health Authority which would be abolished or varied as a result of the proposed Order,

with the bodies listed in paragraph (2).

(2) The bodies referred to in paragraph (1) are—

(a)any Primary Care Trust whose area falls, wholly or partly, within the area of the Strategic Health Authority;

(b)any NHS trust which provides goods or services to persons for whom a Primary Care Trust, whose area falls wholly or partly within the area of the Strategic Health Authority, is responsible, unless the amount of goods or level of services is, in the opinion of the Strategic Health Authority, not significant;

(c)any local authority whose area falls, wholly or partly, within the area of the Strategic Health Authority;

(d)any overview and scrutiny committee (including any joint overview and scrutiny committee(4)) of a local authority whose area falls, wholly or partly, within the area of the Strategic Health Authority;

(e)the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health(5);

(f)any Patients' Forum(6) established for a Primary Care Trust or for a NHS trust with which consultation is required under sub-paragraph (a) or (b);

(g)any Community Health Council(7) whose area falls, wholly or partly, within the area of the Strategic Health Authority;

(h)such voluntary organisations as appear to the Strategic Health Authority to represent the interests of persons who are provided with health services under the 1977 Act in its area; and

(i)such other persons as the Strategic Health Authority considers appropriate.

Combination of consultation

3.  Where more than one Strategic Health Authority is the subject of or is affected by a proposed Strategic Health Authority Order, the consultation required under regulation 2 may be carried out jointly by the Strategic Health Authorities concerned or by one of them on behalf of all of them.

Reference to the Secretary of State

4.—(1) A Strategic Health Authority must not publish or send to the bodies listed in regulation 2(2) any written documentation prepared for the purposes of a consultation under these Regulations unless the consultation has been approved by the Secretary of State.

(2) Within the period of 14 days beginning on the date on which a consultation required by these Regulations ends, or such longer period as the Secretary of State may determine, the Strategic Health Authority which has carried out the consultation must—

(a)send to the Secretary of State such documents or information as the Secretary of State may require; and

(b)report the results of the consultation to the Secretary of State and, if the Secretary of State so requires, provide copies of any written responses to the consultation.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

These Regulations set out the consultation requirements which must be complied with before the Secretary of State may make an order which varies the area of, abolishes, establishes or changes the name of a Strategic Health Authority. Regulation 2 provides that the consultation must be carried out by the Strategic Health Authority which is the subject of, or is affected by, a proposed order and lists the bodies which must be consulted. Regulation 3 provides for consultation to be combined where more than one Strategic Health Authority is involved. Regulation 4 requires the Strategic Health Authority conducting the consultation first to seek the Secretary of State’s approval of any consultation and secondly to report the results of the consultation to the Secretary of State.